Usually I refrain from tossing in my opinions. But, during the occasional return to the JLF Blog, coupled with the plethora of “whinny-panty” opinion columns I have read across the state and nation, I feel like it might be time for this recent college grad (from UNC-CH, mind you) to dust off his soapbox.
For starters, I would like to address Jon’s “Bile and Despair” posts. The war in Iraq is a wholly different war. We are fighting for a cause that runs tangential to WWI in scope and meaning. We are fighting for freedom and democracy (very Wilsonian), though we refuse to stand firm in our resolve that this is indeed another world war. Terrorism is neither restricted to one country, one organization, nor one man. If anyone has read the 9/11 Commission Report, they would see that the web of terror runs deeper than a vein of gold. The pressures of time and the demographics of the world have caused the searing fissure of terror. I for one am tired of being told that I don’t understand what is going on in America, neigh the world. And when I say “I,” I speak for all young Republicans who DO know what is going on in this moment in time.
What’s more, the shift to the right, which has dominated talk-radio and news articles for the past few days, has been grossly mischaracterized. Yes, there may be a value shift in America as shown by voter response to Bush’s policies. But, let us not forget that there are many issues at stake that the outcome of this election will influence. In many ways, we are like the mirror image of the emerging EU: instead of seeking a core value system by which we can form into a cohesive union, like the EU is battling through now, here in the US, we are attempting to re-define what it means to be American. Gone are the days of the liberal need to be all-inclusive. It is time now, more than ever, to define what it means to be American. When faced with an enemy that has a misconstrued view of who we are and what we stand for, we must first define ourselves before we contend those who threaten our way of life. And, right now, I am so glad that we have a president who will help America become strong again by re-asserting ? not redefining ? what it means to be an American.
