mmarkey
10-19-04, 02:57 PM
(I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER!!!)
This was written in the Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington paper)
onWed. Oct. 6, 2004. It was written by Mathew Manweller who is a
Central Washington University political science professor.
The title of the article was "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 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 twofold.
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 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
culture 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 WWII, 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."
------------------
Mike Markey
This was written in the Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington paper)
onWed. Oct. 6, 2004. It was written by Mathew Manweller who is a
Central Washington University political science professor.
The title of the article was "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 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 twofold.
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 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
culture 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 WWII, 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."
------------------
Mike Markey