Franklin D. Roosevelt, in America's darkest hour
"Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop,
before 9/11,
told a nation of stunned Americans that it had
nothing to fear but fear itself.
His words could not be more apt for the situation
today, when terrorists and thugs have stolen from
us the one thing that equalizes every single
person who lives in these United States --
the right to pursue happiness.
Through acts of terrorism and propaganda, our
enemies assault us with fear on every side,
breaking the spirit of freedom.
If we allow them to plant the spore of fear
in our hearts, fear will take root and fester,
and our enemies will divide us.
Divided, the torchlight burning in the darkness
lit 200 years ago that has stood for
the meaning of America will be extinguished.
Let no one be turned away from our shores
who seeks freedom -- who seeks not to
deprive us of freedom.
Don't let fear make your hands tremble --
grip the torch of freedom and raise it high.
Let the world see America's spirit
shining with hope, and
do not fear.
free to work, free to trade where I choose,
free to choose my own teachers, free to follow
the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think
and act for myself – and I will obey every law
or submit to the penalty." ~ Chief Joseph
(real name: In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat – Thunder coming up
over the land from the water), of the Nez Perce
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be
purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty,
or give me death! ~ Patrick Henry
"We will remember not the words of our enemies, but
the silence of our friends." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea.
I have seen blood running from the wounded... I
have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities
destroyed... I have seen children starving. I have
seen the agony of mothers and wives.
I hate war." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
"When I despair, I remember that all through
history the way of truth and love has always won.
There have been tyrants and murderers and for a
time they seem invincible but in the end, they
always fall -- think of it, always." ~ Mohandas Gandhi
"Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope.
Hope breeds peace." ~ Confucius
Liberty cannot be preserved without a general
The March to Save Saddam
Mr. Horowitz, you are one of many who have
(1) There is presently no draft. Our men and
(2) Unlike the Viet Nam era, when it seemed
(3) Ho Chi Minh never had the power of religion
When you compare today's showdown with Iraq to
But this is also comparing apples to oranges:
We must not rush to war. We must remain strong
Every antiwar protester should ask themselves:
Are we really willing to give up on the American
Is it wrong to stand up for the oppressed? Can
If America's Big Oil is the reason why we are
We who are anti-war walk a razor's edge when we
Will we listen to our esteemed NATO colleague,
We must continue to exercise all diplomatic
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knowledge among the people. (from Dissertation on the Canon
and the Feudal Law ) ~ John Adams (1735-1826) 2nd American president
~ an editorial by David Horowitz against anti-war protests
and Saddam is No Viet Nam:
An Open Letter to David Horowitz
likened the impending war on Iraq to the
Viet Nam conflict. You wrote that it was
the clearest parallel to the present. Here's
why it's not:
women are in the service because they made
a conscious decision to join the military,
trusting in our government's policies. Hatred
of the draft was one of the biggest motivators
of American anti-war protesters, and it
didn't take Communist "outside agitators"
to make us hate the draft. That's why liberal
Democrats want the draft re-instituted; to
further motivate anti-war factions.
ludicrous that Ho Chi Minh could have a
real impact on our lives if we didn’t go
overseas, we now have realistic fears of
terrorist strikes on American soil. As you
pointed out in your editorial, Saddam
Hussein has been paying rewards to the
families of suicide bombers in Palestine
through his charitable foundations there.
He came out in support of the terrorist
strikes in America on 9/11 and has encouraged
more such attacks. There is every reason to
believe that he is assisting terrorists at
this very moment. Osama bin Laden's recent
tapes support this conclusion.
to inflame and unite fellow believers, unlike
Saddam, who is even uniting his enemies under
the banner of Islam. A closer parallel to the
present situation in Iraq would be the power of
Japanese Emperor Hirohito when he ordered the
attack on Pearl Harbor by a military synergized
through expectations of glory in the afterlife
as reward for sacrifice on behalf of their
God-made-manifest-on-Earth.
America's success when the Wall fell, you are
closer to the mark. Like Reagan in his era,
George W. Bush is in the lead car of the train
of efforts made by successive administrations
to manage Muslim extremists in the Middle East.
Like Reagan, Bush must use every tool available
to its best advantage on a staged world scenario
not-of-his-making to ensure the collapse of the
enemies' infrastructure from within.
what really brought down the Soviet Empire and
made the Russians our allies in Capitalism was
good old-fashioned Capitalist bankruptcy. The
religion of Communism was not unifying the
people of the USSR, especially in the last days
of socioeconomic hardships before the wall fell.
In Saddam Hussein, we are dealing with a man
who uses Islam to paint himself as brother to
peaceful, cooperative nations for his own
personal gain. Like Osama bin Laden, he is a
dangerous madman able to manipulate many to
his own ends.
and appear strong and united while exercising
restraint. Through the combination of diplomacy
and show of force, Bush's administration is
doing its part, but all people who continue
to compare the possibility of war in Iraq to
the Viet Nam conflict are undermining the
mutual causes of peace and successful management
of this crisis. Being against war does not
relieve people of responsibility for taking
action when it is necessary, and protest signs
aren't doing a thing to protect the Iraqi
people who don't agree with Saddam's
government. Ask the Kurds.
Dream? Is it wrong to desire to be able to make
all we can of our lives no matter where we began
on the social strata? Should we give up trying
to share that dream with others? Should we give
up on that dream for ourselves because people
of other countries like our money but don't like
our attitude?
anyone argue that Saddam's regime -- like the
Taliban's was in Afghanistan -- is not
oppressive? When he invaded Kuwait and lost,
it took us years to put out the fires of
his "scorched earth" policy. If we have the
capability to intervene before this happens
again but don't, don't we share the guilt of
the oppressor?
going to war with Iraq, whose Big Oil should
have leverage over management of global
petroleum stores? If you take a look at the
government's books, it surely doesn't appear
that we've been taking anything from other
countries for free. With America, there has
always been a give and take, and America's
dominance has ensured that we all have a share.
Will this be the case if we allow our dominance
to slip? If Saddam wins this showdown, how
many will be able to get the gas to drive to
peace rallies?
condemn Capitalism's excesses without
acknowledging our own love for Capitalism's
benefits. Before manning a protest sign, we
should think about whether we are really willing
to give up the freedoms and (comparative)
stability we enjoy -- because people in Germany
and France and Australia and all the other
countries hosting huge anti-American anti-war
rallies surely aren't giving that any
consideration.
Germany, who wants us to allow the UN inspectors
to have the final word on Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction? Or instead of listening to what
they say, will we take note of what they do as
they are saying it -- as they ship more
materials of mass destruction to North Korea,
another avowed enemy of the United States?
solutions to exhaustion before going to war in
order to remain true to American ideals -- in
order to demonstrate to our own people that we
are not the evil empire Saddam has named us.
However, while speaking softly, we must not lay
down Teddy Roosevelt's Big Stick. When
terrorists threaten to rock our way of life,
we must be ready to roll.
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