Last night at dinner my father’s face lit up as he was paying the bill. Was dinner that cheap? Considering he and my mother both had two large glasses of wine and we all ordered specials, I presumed that wasn’t the case. When I asked my father why he was smiling, he pointed to the fine print at the bottom of the bill. Written proudly was the phrase, "God Bless America." It sounds funny to say, but I was proud of my father for that. Being the ardent Republican that he is he has supported the Bush-backed war from its inception. As someone who lost a host of friends, including his most dearest in 9/11, my father has supported the war through and through. But after six years people seem to have forgotten that we are at war and if they haven’t forgotten have a strange way of showing it.
Certainly the media could portray the positive events occurring in the Middle East if they so choose, but that’s another argument for another day. Warring nations have existed in our history for years upon years and while it’s certainly the hope that in these modern times we can fight and play fair and resolve our differences through other means, we have to be somewhat realistic. I am certainly dismayed by many of the decisions President Bush has made since we invaded Iraq but I do believe he is making an attempt to halt the infusion of radical Islamic terrorists from taking over the world. Certainly the invasion of Iraq has spurred the terrorist cause only more so but their grotesque schemes has been wretched and vile since the ’70’s and nobody in the world felt compelled to do something about it. Part of our makeup as a nation is loyalty and despite how horribly this war is going we should stand behind those soldiers that wage their lives to defend our lives. They don’t want to be there either, but they’re doing so to defend our freedom. I want them back home and safe just as much as the next guy (I lost a high school classmate that died while serving in Iraq and my sister’s boyfriend is currently over there) but there will be no progress if we don’t keep our forces over there.
If you don’t want to defend the war, then take a look at the simple math of it. In the six years since 9/11, there has not been a single successful attack on U.S. soil, the unemployment rate is the lowest its been in 20 years and the stock exchange is still solid, intact and consistently doing better than it was six years ago. If you had assured me that would be the case on September 12, I would not have believed you for a second. You would also say that given those circumstances our president would have a 70 percent approval rating. That is anything but the case. If I give my Dad some credit for being so conservative, it's that he's so staunch and ardent in what he believes. He is much like our president and we need more people like that. I tend to agree with my father when he says that in 20 years, George W. Bush will probably be looked at as a far more influential president than history has indicated thus far. I hope he's right. That's enough politics for now.
Bring on the hate mail.
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2 comments:
no hate mail here. I actually agree with you. Unfortunately, we stay silent about our feelings about GW Bush. I wonder if we spoke up, hsi approval rating would be higher. Then again, the media would never report such a thing. I think it's interesting that Barack Obama is saying the same thing about the economy that Bush did. When Bush said it, it was ignored or viewed as failure. When Obama says it, he is reported as ready to lead us int the right direction. Tell your Dad, I am with him, and I salute all our soldiers on this Veterans Day.
I just looked through the rest of your blog. Very cool. You are reviewing unknown bands. I like it. I am always searching for new music. I only recognized a few, Augustana and Dan Bern - both very good artists. I will follow your blog..
Where in Long Island are you? I am a Holbrook guy...Suffolk County
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