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Have we gotten the
message yet?
That’s My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
Oct. 1, 2012
Sixty-eight years ago today, I was brought kicking and screaming into a
world at war. It was a conflict between two ideologies… German Nazism
and its sister Japanese and Italian despots vs Freedom and Independence.
According to Wikipedia, WWII resulted in 55 million deaths, the largest
and most destructive conflict in history.
Fifty years ago today I was a “fish” in the Corps of Cadets at The
A&M College of Texas. In a few weeks, there would be a standoff
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over an attempt to deliver
missiles to Cuba. This was one of the most frightening times yet in a
Cold War that had been building since two Atomic bombs were dropped
over Japan to end the Second World War.
President John F. Kennedy was taking a stand against the Soviet spread
of Communism to the Western Hemisphere.
There was a “hush” over the A&M campus as we awaited the outcome of
the blockade, and I was later told that elementary students were being
taught basic safety procedures like crawling under their desks and
covering their heads in case of a nuclear attack.
Nuclear attack? Under your desk? Right. Doesn’t make any more sense
today than it did then.
Following the “Great War” we had to deal with North Korea, and a decade
later we realized that the U.S. was – and had been – embroiled in a
conflict in another place on the other side of the world that few
people had ever heard of… Vietnam.
When Kennedy was assassinated, President Lyndon Baines Johnson was left
with the responsibility for a war that no one wanted… one that divided
our nation for years to come.
Those who put their lives on the line at the behest of Washington
politicians were spit upon and called “baby-killers” when they came
home. And a “Make Love not War” movement was born that I believe has
heaped untold damage on our society today.
President Richard Nixon got us out of Vietnam, but then went down in
disgrace over Watergate. He resigned but still faced a hostile Congress
and American people. President Gerald Ford pardoned him so that the
nation could move forward. This cost him his bid for re-election to a
peanut farmer from Georgia, President Jimmy Carter.
We hadn’t thought much about it but the Middle East turmoil was in full
bloom. Carter lost his re-election bid, most likely due to the Iran
Hostage Crisis. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days
(Wikipedia). They were released shortly after President Ronald Reagan
was sworn into office in January 1981.
I remember Reagan’s “Star Wars,” but not his “Tear Down this Wall”
until much later. Both are believed to have led to the beginning of the
end of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe.
Fast forward to President Bill Clinton. He was the recipient of what
was referred to as Reagan’s “second longest peacetime economic
expansion in U.S. history” (Wikipedia). I remember it as a time of
economic freedom and growth – I had my own business at the time – and
little concern over what was happening elsewhere in the world.
California was just beginning to raise its ugly ‘tax burden’ head.
Taxes, fees and restrictions were starting to threaten my clients’
businesses, and consequently, mine.
The Middle East certainly wasn’t on my radar. I remember seeing a
network interview with Osama bin Laden sometime during the 90s. I
thought “big deal… who cares?”
Was the Sept. 11 attack already in the planning stages at that time?
Probably.
Eleven years and 20 days ago, I was working in a small print shop in
Ann Arbor, Mich., when a client dropped off some printing and mentioned
something about a plane crashing into a tower in New York.
From that day forward the world changed. Rather, the world had been
changing… now we knew it. Our response in Afghanistan was immediate and
warranted.
I was nervous about Iraq, especially with all the criticism of
President G. W. Bush from the other side of the aisle… after both
parties and the U.N. had given him a vote of confidence for the
decision to go to war, of course.
The Sept. 11 attack had come from Afghanistan, not Iraq. Regardless, we
were now in two conflicts in the Middle East. Suddenly, dealing with a
growing threat from a group of religious fanatics was on everyone’s
radar.
We were told that Bin Laden’s death was a potentially fatal blow to the
movement… all that was left was to wrap up the pieces. I was skeptical,
but that’s what our leaders told us. I gave them the benefit of the
doubt. However I still couldn’t understand why we were telling those
“pieces” exactly when we were going to leave Afghanistan.
On Monday, October 1, the day I turned 68, we were still reeling from
another terrorist attack that belied the “good feelings” we got from
the demise of the leader of the Sept. 11 attack.
Our handling of Middle East events has obviously been a disaster. Maybe
for the last 11 years. Definitely for the last four. The other side has
declared war; we are just now getting the damn message!
Or are we? Just a series of demonstrations over a video?
My biological father and my adopted father were both part of the
“Greatest Generation.” I am fiercely proud of a country that has
defended its freedom and its people – at home and abroad - with a
no-holds-barred vengeance.
My grandparents, parents, uncles, cousins and friends sacrificed and,
in some cases, gave their lives to assure that for 68 years I could
enjoy the benefits of a Constitution and the dedication to liberty that
our forefathers gave us. I want no less for my children and their
children.
I have many grievances with the current administration, ranging from
economic ineptitude to excessive government interference in our daily
lives. The most egregious, however, is a seeming cluelessness over the
threats we face from other parts of the world.
Have we gotten the message yet? I don’t think the current
administration has, but have we? I guess I’ll find out on Nov. 6.
That’s My Opinion. What’s Yours?
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