newstalk

Better than you probably think.

Two political entries in two days. This one from a Bush speech (or excerpts and commentary from the Washington Post, as the case may be):

America cannot retreat from our responsibilities and hope for the best. Our security will not be gained by timid measures. Our security requires constant vigilance and decisive action. I believe America has only one option. We must fight this war until our work is done.

He’s right, and that’s the scary thing. If we want to retain any credibility, any self-respect as a nation, we must finish what we’ve started. But what will until our work is done look like, exactly? I’m not so sure that he knows. I’m not so sure that any of the 2004 candidates know. I certainly don’t know. We keep calling this a war, but it’s unlike any war that we’ve ever fought. We’re beginning to realize this. War will require sacrifice, no matter how hard we try to wish it away. Not merely the sacrifice of young men’s lives (and I use “merely” in an ironic sense here), but a sacrifice in how we live our daily lives, in how we conduct our business, in how we think, act and talk. The nation that defeated Hitler and the Axis understood this, at least eventually, and took decisive action before it was too late. But what of the nation that faces the quiet and shadowy threat of this “Axis of Evil”? Would we be willing to sacrifice not just our young men, but our SUVs? Our tidy (or not-so-tidy) paychecks? Our privacy? Our innate sense of superiority, ease and well-being? Should we be willing? Is security even possible in a free state?

Do we have the energy as a nation to see this through? I pray we do, but the negativity and skepticism that I see in the press and elsewhere, the quiet doubts that I often feel, will pose a tremendous obstacle. And what will happen if we do give in to this overwhelming pressure to give up? What if we throw in the towel and walk away from a world that doesn’t necessarily want our help? We shall see. God save the United States of America, and may He speed us through these coming days of darkness.

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