The commentary
is from Matthew Manweller, a political science professor at
Central Washington University. Here's the text of that
commentary:
"In that this
will be my last column before the presidential election,
there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee.
The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.
This November we
will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will
truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation
crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance.
Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of
ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation that is aware of
its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future
demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo
through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of
frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White
House, the message to the world and ourselves will be
two-fold.
First, we will
reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a
nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood
upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing
democracy to the Middle East is too big a task for us. But
more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that
as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges,
preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity
that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of
President Bush will send a chilling message to future
presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular
decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to
the demands of history regardless of the decisions. America
has always been a nation that rises to the demands of
history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away
from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.
Second, we
inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the
lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed
terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the
battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They
learned that a wounded America can become a defeated
America. Twenty-four hour news stations and daily tracing
polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal
blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election
of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every
cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the
timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a
steady stream of grizzly photos for CNN is all you need to
break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt
will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he
can topple any American administration without setting foot
on the homeland.
It is said that
America's WWII generation is its "greatest generation." But
my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's
"last generation." Born in the bleakness of the Great
Depression and hardened in the fire of WWII, they may be the
last American generation that understands the meaning of
duty, honor, and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but
I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by
many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens
today mistake "living in America" as "being an American."
But America has always been more of an idea than a place.
When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You
accept a set of values and responsibilities. This November,
my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp
that 100 years from now historians will look back at the
election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our
century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as
the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or
they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and
daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden
as caretakers of the City on the Hill."
