Once upon a time in America, one President rose to address a nation faced with global enemies, and firmly asserted the American creed:
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe – in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty!”
The President was John F. Kennedy – a Democrat – a figure now nearly revered in American history.
The global enemy of that day were revolutionary communist regimes, backed mostly by the USSR and China, and promulgated in wars and terrorism around the world.
Kennedy himself was veteran to another global war; a war against the triple threats of Nazism, fascism, and Japanese militarism.
Today’s enemy are still the forces of totalitarian oppression, promulgated now under the auspices of a revolutionary Islamic jihad. It’s the same dance, with a different partner.
John Kennedy would likely today be acutely embarrassed by the posture being undertaken by his fellow Democrats.
Kennedy understood, as did Ronald Reagan, that the way to true and lasting peace, is through strength – a willingness to take on and sustain a battle, to stand by one’s allies, oppose one’s enemies, and to see an effort through to ultimate victory and success.
Bin Laden and his Islamist allies instead see today a gutless America, defined by weakness and lack of fortitude – in Vietnam, Mogadishu, and now (he hopes) in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel – and beyond.
Given the current political climate, he may be right.
I believe that most Americans are still made of sterner stuff. The threat however, is real – and our survival is not assured – if we allow ourselves to be led by those who would rather run from a fight, than stand up to it.
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