Obi’s Sister

I think The Anchoress should run for public office, something big and visible, like President of the Federation or something, regardless of what she thinks. Boy, she’d kick some a$$ and take some names, wouldn’t she?

Her post today is outstanding in that it weaves in not only issues about today’s elections, but values and ideals that have driven previous votes. Put all that in the pot, and you have the rue for today’s world. Read the whole thing. It’s a Voting-is-not-only-a-RIGHT-but-a-PRIVILEGE primer. She asks

If we pull out of Iraq, how do we remain the nation we have always been? How does America continue to stand for something great and unique and age-defining? How do we prevent ourselves from slipping into the same suicidal-and-cowardly mindset which is very quickly disabling France and Germany and Belgium and Spain and Italy?

[...]In pulling out we would indeed be losing. We would also be displaying feckless cowardice -a dishonorable unwillingness to keep our word and commitment. We would be showing to God and the whole world that America no longer believes in the allure of liberty over the clatter of jackboots, that she does not believe in the power of an idea to manifestly change things, that she does not believe in transcendence or hope, or in the change that can be effected through courage, selflessness, dogged determination, resolution and a firm vision.

What strikes me is that most of the MTV generation doesn’t have the ability to see how and even why intangible values are worthing fighting for. For their children and grandchildren. Their hyper-developed sense of ME and NOW overshadows every decision in their life - should I get the low-fat latte today? Which flat-screen TV should I buy? No wonder they cannot comprehend the levity of the electoral process.

I do say most - there are a few with dreams and visions for their future. They understand their voices need to be heard. They understand that freedom is NOT FREE. But the rest are just plain oblivious. Just look at the way many campaigns have been run this cycle. Mostly soundbites, mostly negative - all designed for the those with the short-attention-span.

How sad for those who can no longer dream - who can no longer look at America and imagine the greatness within, and how that greatness might be shared - how the visions of the founders might be spread. How sad it is to realize that some of the people currently in leadership positions in this nation would look at General Washington and Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and they would say…”this was a bad idea…it’s getting difficult. We should just quit.”

Annie Lennox once sang:

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world
And the seven seas
Everybody’s looking for something.

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused.

Anyway, I digress…..Back to the Anchoress

If you are suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome, you may not be able dream, or to be able to see the vision. Believing as you do, that the greatest threat to progress and peace on planet Earth is a swaggering Texan who is slow of tongue and unwilling to bend, you cannot - or will not -see the threat that is before you, that your daughters may no longer be free to fulfill their potentials, that they might be expendable if their hair is left uncovered, that your sons - gay or straight - may no longer be who they are, for fear of the noose. That your industry may simply dry up for lack of market and amenable associates, that your entertainments - to which you have given yourself over with inordinate passion - may be outlawed.

If you are suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome, you may be willing to throw away the greatness of America’s past and the promise of her future - and your children’s freedoms - all for the sake of slaking a lustful hate. You may think that by voting “against” the party and policies of a man who will only be in office for two more years and then will disappear, you are making a statement.

The Communists urge you to vote Democratic. The Europeans are cheering for the Democrats. We all know who the terrorists want to win. Orson Scott Card is one of my husband’s favorite sci-fi authors. He’s a Democrat, but of the Old School. You know, before the party lost it’s mind. MaxedOutMama has an excellent critique of his post calling out all Democrats to vote Republican this election. Read them both!

It’s not that Bush is stupid, but that we have all been dealt a bad hand. There never was any good way out of this, and anyone who pretends there is a simple or easy answer is deeply deluded, which phrase deftly describes the leadership of the current Democratic party.

In my mind, this may be very well be the first American election that effects the direction in which the rest of the world careens in the years to come. The liberties some of us hold so dear, could be decided today. So much is at stake. Cast your VOTE for whom you will serve.

UPDATE: William F. Buckley weighs in on the future of the Democratic party. A must read…

The important contention [today] doesn’t involve the Republican candidate. It is Lieberman vs. Ned Lamont, the other Democrat. And the political drama in Connecticut isn’t just among the candidates. It has to do with the future of the Democratic Party — and that future affects everyone.

What happened in this campaign was the materialization on August 8 of an ideological posse. Its mission was to punish a Democrat for the sin of backing President Bush in the Iraq war.

UPDATE II : Wow. Bill Whittle’s long but worth it read. Be sure to check out the flights annimation link (you have to read it to find it).

Siggy takes The Anchoress’ musings on Election Day another step further.

All these tragedies- and others like them- are allowed to continue unabated because we fail to distinguish our own morality from the morality of so many European or some Muslim nations, led by some of the most dysfunctional leaders in history. If Americans cannot distingush themselves from the actions or inactions of those nations, then America have indeed lost that most important moral compass.