This was written in the Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington paper) on Wed. Oct. 6, 2004.
It was written by Mathew Manweller who is a Central Washington University political
science professor.
The title of the article was "Election determines fate of nation."
"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election there will be
no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are
too high. This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will
truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an
election hangs in the balance.
Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a
nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands.
If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If
we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the
message to the world and ourselves will be twofold. First, we will reject the notion that
America can do big things. Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and
stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle
East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future
presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring
caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations.
The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to culture presidents who may
need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that
rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from
that legacy, we turn away from who we are. Second, we inform every terrorist organization
on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists
that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the
newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America.
Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy lifting, turning
a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry
will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American
power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of
grizzly photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own
self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any
American administration without setting foot on the homeland
It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest generation.' But my greatest
fear is that it will become known as America's 'last generation.' Born in the bleakness of
the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WW II, they may be the last American
generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to
admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all)
in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in America' as 'being an
American.' But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you
do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities.
This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp the obligation
that comes with being an American, or fade into the oblivion they may deserve. I believe
that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as
the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as
the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the
moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as
caretakers of the City on the Hill."