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pappy
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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."
Mathew Manweller
(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."
Mathew Manweller
