imported_John
New member
A friend of mine sent this to me, and I thought some of you might like to ponder it. This man speaks a great truth.: Editorial on the Upcoming Presidential Elections
Sterling Hill wrote:
> This is absolutely excellent. Hopefully it can be widely circulated to
> anyone willing to face the facts!
>
> Sterling
>
> From the Wed 06 Oct 2004 issue of the Ellensburg
> Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington)... written by Mathew Manweller...
> Central Washington University political science professor...
> "Election determines fate of nation"
> "In that this will be my last column before the presidential election,
> there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too
>
> serious, and the stakes are too high.
> This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that
> will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation
> crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path
> lies retreat,
> abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation
> that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future
> demands.
> If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50
> years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current
> occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will
> be
> two-fold.
> First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things.
> Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon
> the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the
> Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will
> signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle
> difficult
> challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity
> that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of President Bush
> will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make
> difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that
> rises to
> the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away
>
> from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.
> Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the
> lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that
> you
> don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them
> in
> the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated
> America.
> Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy
> lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia
> times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist
> in
> every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of
> American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly
> photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people.
> Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize
> that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the
>
> homeland.
> It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest
> generation'.
> But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last
> generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened
> in the fire of WW II, they may be the last American generation that
> understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to
> admit, but
> I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not
>
> all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in
> America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been more of an
> idea than
> a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept
> a set of values and responsibilities.
> This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp
> the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the
> oblivion
> they may deserve.
> I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the
> election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century.
> Depending
> on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the
> ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the
> prodigal
> sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as
> caretakers of the City on the Hill."
Sterling Hill wrote:
> This is absolutely excellent. Hopefully it can be widely circulated to
> anyone willing to face the facts!
>
> Sterling
>
> From the Wed 06 Oct 2004 issue of the Ellensburg
> Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington)... written by Mathew Manweller...
> Central Washington University political science professor...
> "Election determines fate of nation"
> "In that this will be my last column before the presidential election,
> there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too
>
> serious, and the stakes are too high.
> This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that
> will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation
> crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path
> lies retreat,
> abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation
> that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future
> demands.
> If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50
> years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current
> occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will
> be
> two-fold.
> First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things.
> Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon
> the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the
> Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will
> signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle
> difficult
> challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity
> that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of President Bush
> will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make
> difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that
> rises to
> the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away
>
> from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.
> Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the
> lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that
> you
> don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them
> in
> the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated
> America.
> Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy
> lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia
> times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist
> in
> every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of
> American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly
> photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people.
> Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize
> that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the
>
> homeland.
> It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest
> generation'.
> But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last
> generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened
> in the fire of WW II, they may be the last American generation that
> understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to
> admit, but
> I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not
>
> all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in
> America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been more of an
> idea than
> a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept
> a set of values and responsibilities.
> This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp
> the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the
> oblivion
> they may deserve.
> I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the
> election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century.
> Depending
> on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the
> ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the
> prodigal
> sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as
> caretakers of the City on the Hill."
