This is Floyd Wynne with The View From Here    1/10/06

 

            What has happened to America?

            Are we a nation in total disarray….or is this the way that Democracy really works?

            Take an honest look at where we are at the moment.

            While our young men and women are fighting and dying in Iraq…our politicians in Washington are quibbling over whether or not President Bush has the legal right to tap the phones of suspected terrorists who might be plotting new attacks against this country.

            When terrorists are at the gate…what is most important…..that we take every effort to avoid another devastating attack like that of September 11, 2001…or that it is more important that our civil rights are respected.  

            Right now the big question is really not….did the President have the right to tap incoming calls to terrorists in this country.   The question is whether or not the President has the power to secure this country against such a terrorist attack.  Not only that but we see unfolding in Washington, D.C. a question of who has the power to run the nation…..Congress or the President.

            It may seem a bad simile, but to me it looks like another case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

            Our valiant troops are in the field battling an enemy who has no conscience and is bent on only one thing…..killing anyone who is in their way.   While our young warriors are dying in Iraq….Congress is engaged in debating who should be in charge of our nation.

            Remember the big flap about our forces were torturing insurgents…even to the point of turning them over to other countries where they weren’t quite as nice.

In Iraq….our troops are told that when the Iraqis or our troops capture insurgents they are not to be coerced into giving up information on new attacks or concealed weapons.  The Iraqis, who are fighting for their very existence, are told they cannot use coercive measures on their captives, but must turn them over to our forces for questioning.    No wonder there is conflict even among our forces there.

            We’re like a genial giant standing amid his enemies, hands tied behind our backs, inviting our enemies to do their damndest.   Is that the kind of war were asking our young people to fight and die for?

            While the Iraqis struggle to form some kind of a coalition government, our politicians quiz Supreme Court Nominee Alito on questions about abortion, what kind of power the President should have and on and on.

            Ever since the election of 2000 we have been a nation torn apart on strictly political lines.   The liberal media delight in portraying the President as a dumb Texan with big ears and belittling everything that he does.  Even after his solid victory in 2004 the Democrats and the media have engaged in a “hate Bush” campaign.

            Perhaps I’m just an old fuddy-duddy World War Two vet who can’t see the forest for the trees, but believe me I don’t like the kind of politicized America that we have today.   In my opinion not only democracy, but the fate of our nation  hangs in the balance today, and too many Americans would rather fiddle while Rome burns rather than face up to the reality of the fact we are involved in a war with the terrorists that could wind up with millions of Americans dying in this country from suicide bombers or nuclear blasts.

            My advice would be…..wake up America…..the enemy is at the gate…..put aside all your petty complaints….unite our effort as a nation…..take all the steps necessary to secure the safety and survival of our nation.

 

            This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.