It's Still a Post 9/11 World

September 12, 2008; seven years and a day since the attacks on our soil by Islamic fascists. People who hate us, hate our way of life, our freedom, our success, our Constitution, our history, our faith, our exceptionalism. There has never, in the history of the world, existed a greater country, exuding more goodness and compassion on more people in more countries, than the United States of America. And they hate us.

Wherever there is a natural or man-made disaster in the world, the USA is first to give aid and deliver comfort to our fellow man, even to those whose interests are contrary to ours. Where does this come from? I think Americans have a sense of our history and origins; we have a sense of the faith that is foundational to that history. Though we are not all believers, certainly, this sense of our national identity, like a Spirit, hovers over this country, and has a profound effect on most of its citizens. Most of its citizens, but not all.

There are some of my fellow citizens who are, seemingly, unaffected by the Spirit of this country. They do not believe in the exceptionalism of America. They do not believe, as I do, that God has put his hand on this country to use it for good in this time in history. They do believe in some twisted "moral equivalency" between us (U.S.) and those who attacked us on 9/11. In their hearts, they somehow believe that the Islamofascists have a valid point. They have worked tirelessly since that day to place the blame on us, saying "we did this to ourselves", and seek to give heretofore unknown and undeserved rights and privileges to those who seek to harm us. They have discounted the threat still posed in the world by the evil ideology of the Islamofascists and wish to treat it as a law enforcement issue and a crime to be prosecuted, rather than a war that has been declared on us.

They are known as Liberals, Progressives, Socialists, the Left and . . . Democrats. Their organizations include the ACLU, the NEA, NOW, Planned Parenthood, DNC, CAIR and many more. They hate the Spirit of America. In seeming concert with the Islamofascists, they declare their hatred for the traditions and institutions that have defined our goodness. Very often you cannot distinguish between the words spoken by the Left and those spoken by Osama Bin Laden. I think you can discern which side the Left is on when you hear whose candidates are endorsed by Hamas and Hezbollah. I think it is obvious, their positions are the same. They want to destroy America, and turn it into something of their own design. They want to kill the Spirit of America.

As it was in the days of the Revolution, we must fight on against all odds. We must defend against the evil in the world. It was Edmund Burke, the great English statesman who said, "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."

The Choice

If you are are a real conservative, like I am, this has been a difficult election season. (When I say "real conservative", I mean socially and fiscally, with libertarian views on limited government.) We had been looking for a real conservative to represent us, but all of the candidates had some flaw, some disqualification, that would not allow the coalescing of opinion in their favor. I was greatly disappointed last winter, to know that somehow, John McCain had been made the Republican nominee. He was the one conservatives like me hated most. He was the one that kept bucking the conservative agenda, and working with liberals across the aisle and idiots with an "R" by their name to thwart common sense legislation, or pass idiotic and unconstitutional laws, and that was when Republicans had the advantage of a majority.

I have read many blog posts of people "like me" who, to this day, are refusing to even consider voting for John McCain. I understand and sympathize with all of these people. My anger against John McCain was at times greater than my loathing of liberal Democrats and their socialist utopian drivel. John McCain should have been on my side, but he was often the greatest weapon in the Democrat arsenal. I hated him because, to me, he was a traitor.

Here is a reality check.

Either John McCain or Barack Obama will be the President of the United States next January 20. We now know, despite the attempts of the drive-by media, what kind of person Barack Obama is. We know, despite his appearance as a mild mannered "community organizer", that he is a communist/socialist sympathizer, with close relationships with people like Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dhorn, (Weathermen terrorists), Jeremiah Wright, and Father Pfleger (pastors and preachers of Black Liberation Theology), Tony Rezko (Chicago slum lord, political patron and convicted slimeball). We know he is a product of the corrupt Chicago Democrat political machine. We know he plays hardball politics and is trying to hide (with the help of the drive-bys) his true, bad, corrupt self. I believe that if he were to gain the presidency, with a Democrat controlled congress, our freedoms, our free speech rights, and talk radio, could be curtailed or silenced. They could not stand the opposition bringing their agenda to light. And can you imagine the likes of Ayers and Wright in the president's cabinet and, of course, a pardon for Rezko. I fear a Barack Obama presidency.

John McCain, despite his record of poking conservatives in the eyes, has at least some of my ideals. He will be a strong advocate of a strong military and will continue the war we must win. He will stand up to the likes of Ahmadinijad who threaten us and the world. He is pro-life, and he came out strong on that point at the Saddleback Church forum. I believe he will push to build nuclear power plants and drill for more domestic oil, an "all of the above" approach to the domestic energy problems. I believe it is more likely that John McCain will appoint constructionist judges to the Federal Courts. Now, I keep in mind that this is John McCain I'm talking about, and that makes me uncertain about eventualities.

Only since Saddleback has my opinion of John McCain become slightly favorable. Now, with his pick of Sarah Palin as his VP, I have actually experienced some positive excitement about voting for the top of the ticket. I believe that Governor Palin is a real conservative and a tough, smart woman. A heartbeat away from the presidency? I'm very OK with that. John McCain has made a good choice.

If you look at places in this country that have entrenched Democrat elected leadership, like Detroit and the entire state of Michigan, it is evident that we cannot afford to elect the likes of Barack Obama. His "solutions" involve taxing "the rich" more to pay for giveaways to "the poor". I will likely be among "the poor", because my "rich" boss, taxed at a higher rate, may not be able to afford to keep me as an employee, and I will lose my job. The whole country would likely face a depression just as Michigan has due to higher taxes.

I will vote for the McCain/Palin ticket for President. I will talk to my friends and neighbors and coworkers and try to convince them to do the same. I am looking to the future. Like another blogger on Town Hall posted last Friday: How about Palin/Jindal '12, Palin/Jindal '16, Jindal/? '20?
That sounds like a pretty good future to me.