Deeply Moving
I had no intention of commenting on anything to do with the Republican National Convention because political discussions never seem to go anywhere productive, and people from both political sides remain unchanged in their respective positions…unchanged that is except for being a little angrier and little more self-righteous. However, as I did with the Democratic National Convention, I decided to watch in on CSPAN. I was surprised to find myself deeply moved by what has taken place thus far on the first day of the convention.
Senator John McCain, of whom I am not a great fan, gave a very powerful and passionate speech about sacrifice, duty, responsibility for protecting our country, and allowing other people to taste the freedoms we enjoy, freedoms that are so precious that our sons, daughters, fathers and mothers are willing to sacrifice their lives so as to give others a taste of that freedom.
So it is, whether we wished it or not, that we have come to the test of our generation, to our rendezvous with destiny. And much is expected of us.
We are engaged in a hard struggle against a cruel and determined adversary. Our enemies have made clear the danger they pose to our security and the very essence of our culture: liberty.
Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war. Like all wars, this one will have its ups and downs. But we must fight. We must.
But there is no avoiding this war. We tried that, and our reluctance cost us dearly.
And while this war has many components, we can’t make victory on the battlefield harder to achieve so that our diplomacy is easier to conduct.
After years of failed diplomacy and limited military pressure to restrain Saddam Hussein, President Bush made the difficult decision to liberate Iraq.
Those who criticize that decision would have us believe that the choice was between a status quo that was well enough left alone and war. But there was no status quo to be left alone.
Our choice wasn’t between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a graver threat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Not our political opponents. And certainly not a disingenuous filmmaker who would have us believe, my friends, … that Saddam’s Iraq was an oasis of peace, when in fact — when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children inside their walls.
Let us argue — let us argue our differences, but remember we are not enemies, but comrades in a war against a real enemy, and take courage from the knowledge that our military superiority is matched only by the superiority of our ideals and our unconquerable love for them.
Our adversaries are weaker than us in arms and men, but weaker still in causes. They fight to express — they fight to express a hatred for all that is good in humanity. We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible.
Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong. Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our president and fight.
We’re Americans. We’re Americans, and we’ll never surrender. They will.
Sen. McCain was followed by three women. One’s husband was part of the group that tried to take back controll of flight 93 that crashed in a field. Another’s brother was the pilot of the plane that went into the Pentagon and whose son is shipping out to Iraq in December. The other’s brother was a firefighter who’s brother was killed when the towers collapsed. Listening to these women describe their own love of their country and their loved ones’ love of their country and their sense of duty and sacrifice, caused me to choke up. They expressed their support for the current leadership of the country.
They were followed by a moment of silence and a rendtion of Amazing Grace that finished the job of choking me up and a few tears rolled down my cheeks.
Right now, Rudy Giuliani is speaking. Simply put, Rudy kicks ass! I used to not like the guy, but he is one hell of a speaker. Right now Giuliani is speaking about George Bush’s proven leadership and initiative on 9/11, Pres. Bush’s compassion for victims, the world’s tolerance of terrorism, the necessity of an offense against terrorism, and John Kerry’s lack of leadership and demostrated inclination to change his opinion 180 degrees numerous times on the same issue. He is expressing his gratefulness that Pres. Bush was president 9/11 and is president today to remove the threats to our nation and to bringing terrorists down.
And it was here in 2001, in the same lower Manhattan, that President George W. Bush stood amid the fallen towers of the World Trade Center, and he said to the barbaric terrorists who attacked us, “They will hear from us.”
Well, they heard from us.
They heard from us in Afghanistan and we removed the Taliban.
They heard from us in Iraq, and we ended Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror. And we put him where he belongs, in jail.
They heard from us in Libya, and without firing a shot Gadhafi abandoned his weapons of mass destruction.
We don’t have all the right ideas. [Democrats] don’t have all the wrong ideas.
But I do believe there are times in history when our ideas are more necessary and more important and critical, and this is one of those times when we are facing war and danger.
There are times when leadership is the most important.
Thank God that George Bush is our president, and thank God that Dick Cheney, a man with his experience and his knowledge and his strength and his background, is our vice president.
Terrorist acts became like a ticket to the international bargaining table. How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize while he was supporting a plague of terrorism in the Middle East and undermining any chance of peace?
Before September 11, we were living with an unrealistic view of our world, much like observing Europe appease Hitler or trying to accommodate the Soviet Union through the use of mutually assured destruction.
President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism, we must also be on offense.
It doesn’t matter to him how he is demonized. It doesn’t matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him.
They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan. But like President Bush, they were optimists. Leaders need to be optimists. Their vision is beyond the present, and it’s set on a future of real peace and security.
Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership.
President Bush has the courage of his convictions.
In choosing a president, we really don’t choose just a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or a liberal. We choose a leader.
And in times of war and danger, as we’re now in, Americans should put leadership at the core of their decision.
Certainly President Bush will keep us focused on that goal. When President Bush announced his commitment to ending global terrorism, he understood, I understood, we all understood that it was critical to remove the pillars of support for the global terrorist movement.
President Bush is the leader we need for the next four years because he can see beyond just today and tomorrow. He can see in the future. He has a vision of a peaceful Middle East and a safer world.
Even if you don’t like Republicans or what they stand for, listen to Rudy Giuliani’s speech. He is a great and powerful speaker.
One thing that has struck me so far about this conventio is the positive attitude of the people. There is no anger, hate-filled, sarcastic, anti-Democrat, anti-Kerry rhetoric. I was particularly impressed that Giuliani called for a round of applause to thank Kerry for his military service to the country.