Photo by Sarah
On this celebration of our nation's Independence Day, I'm honoring our diversity, our optimism, and our magnificent First Amendment. My lovely grandson James is a poster boy for America's future. A very serious young man, as is evident already by age one and a half, when he chooses to smile, he has the power to light up the world around him.
Six decades hence, when he reaches my age, I truly hope the things that make this country great are still in place. Early this morning (I'm always up by 6 a.m., workday or not), I read Sy Hersh's article in this week's New Yorker about the Bush administration's secret covert efforts to provoke Iran into doing something stupid, and therefore creating the pretext for Dick Cheney's greatest remaining wish -- an excuse to bomb and then invade Iran.
I've known Sy for many years, and am quite familiar with the quality of his reporting. He has the best sources within the U.S. military and the CIA of any journalist in America. When he writes a story like this, it is coming from the deepest sense of patriotism that any American could possibly have.
Our best military and intelligence minds fear the civilian hacks like Cheney who continue imposing their private-sector values on a public-spirited military-intelligence establishment.
Obviously, if the unqualified maniacs currently in power in Washington, D.C. have their way, they will drag this great country of ours into yet another quagmire that results only in turning yet another generation of potential friends into fanatic jihadists.
The Iranians are a great people, with an ancient civilization rich with a linguistic tradition that has spawned literary greatness and a mathematical tradition that has yielded fabulous mercantile genius. Not to mention artistic and entrepreneurial contributions that dwarf those of its neighbors on all sides.
A wise leader would realize that the ancient empire of Persia is a natural ally of America. Idiotic leaders, drunk on the inherited and no longer enforceable power of compelling the import of cheap oil to power our absurd civilian fleet of Hummers that truly represent an ineffable national embarrassment of epic proportions are so out of touch with the cycle of history as to be laughable -- except we have not yet rid ourselves of these fools.
Those who criticize Barack Obama for his apparent willingness to reconsider his former position to withdraw our forces from Iraq are hypocrites. To me, his statements recently are comforting, because I am old enough to remember when we left Vietnam precipitously (under a Republican administration) and what a disaster ensued as a result.
I hope President Obama proceeds cautiously in both Iraq and Iran. Thanks to Sy's article, it is clear he will inherit covert ops much like those John F. Kennedy found himself saddled with in 1961. We all know (or should know) what happened then -- the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost led us into an unsurvivable nuclear war.
The Bush-Cheney team aims to push Obama into a similar no-win corner. Only a person deeply committed to our greatest national strengths -- diversity, optimism, and freedom of speech/press/religion and assembly can do what needs to be done circa 2009.
And that is to keep our troops firmly in place in Iraq until stability reigns; to negotiate a new relationship with Iran, Syria, and other powers in the Middle East; and to relentlessly pound Al-Qaeda and the Taliban along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
I believe Barack Obama is the person best qualified to implement these policies, and I also think he will be our President next year. Therefore, even though I also respect John McCain almost as much as Obama, I believe that peace, finally is at hand.
And even though I am utterly non-religious, I can say "Thank God." (Whoever you think (s)he may be.) Why? Because I believe for the first time in my adult life, we have two truly great Americans running for the Presidency, either of whom will help us find our way to a better future.
The problem for McCain is he now seems to be heading backwards in time, rather than where I suspect his heart would go, but he cannot seem to stop himself from being pragmatic politically. I guess he has given in to the lust for power, and therefore, is abandoning his core principles.
Obama, on the other hand, represents a beacon to the future. But if I detect a similar shift by him, I will denounce it just as quickly as I am doing tonight, against McCain.
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2 comments:
I notice when you are in the mood to find good things to say about America, you most frequently lead with “diversity”. I've noticed also that you frequently speak of the need to accept “globalization” heavily laced with the inference that Americans are too narrow minded (my words), arrogant, selfish, and mean spirited (also my words). This fits within the general concept that America needs to back away from its “bully of the block” pose, meekly withdrawing so as to relieve some of the damage it has been inflicting on the rest of the world.
Here's a different take, David. America is not the problem; America is the answer. And Barak Obama is an empty suit.
Obama's Senate voting record as the most liberal senator, even left of Ted Kennedy and John Kerry (difficult acts to follow), his frequent gaffs (especially in matters of foreign policy), his absolute lack of military knowledge, his arrogant statements illustrating a fundamental disconnect with working Americans, his platitudes without substance, his dismal performances without aid of tele-prompters, and on again off again flag pin, all fairly scream “useful idiot”. Even a cursory review of the most prominent characters behind his otherwise inexplicably meteoric rise within the Democrat party (and I'm talking white guys here), will give pause to a rational mind. He is not a leader – he is led. Those clever or well funded enough to manipulate such a candidate will not be doing so in the best interests of America or Americans.
No one has said that Iranians are “bad” people. Neither were the peoples of Germany in 1933, nor Japanese in 1941. But Ahmadinejad and his clique are running Iran, not the Iranian people. If Iran were a democracy in the fashion of Japan, Germany, Italy, or (God forbid) the United States, do you suppose that country would flirt with atomic energy while pronouncing death upon Israel and Jewish peoples?
America is not the problem; America is the answer.
i agree with your opinion and give the peace to Iran and world will be the good selection for the new USA government
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