Etheorigla
21-10-2004, 19:36
I found this interesting on a sociological standpoint. I'll allow you all to debate it:
MATTHEW MANWELLER'S COMMENTARY ON THIS ELECTION
The following commentary is from Matthew Manweller, a political science
professor at
Central Washington University. Here's the text of that commentary:
"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 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 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 tracking 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 WWII 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 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."
MATTHEW MANWELLER'S COMMENTARY ON THIS ELECTION
The following commentary is from Matthew Manweller, a political science
professor at
Central Washington University. Here's the text of that commentary:
"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 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 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 tracking 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 WWII 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 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."