Sacrifice This, Dubya!

There’s nothing I really need to add to Keith Olbermann’s latest great Special Comment about Bushco’s brand new spin on the Iraq debacle, so I’ll just link to it here.

Also, I believe this letter printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer recently recalls our country’s sacrifice from an earlier time in the name of a truly honorable cause.

If Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is ignoring reality in his country ("Vote fails to change Iranian president," Dec. 22), who can deny that our own president is following the same path? I believe I speak for a majority of Americans when I say:

Dear President Bush:

Once again, you have raised the question of sacrifice for the American people. But, beyond the men and women who serve in our military in Iraq, and beyond the families who have seen their loved ones killed or maimed, where is the sacrifice of which you speak?

During World War II, the word sacrifice held some meaning. Just about every American family had someone serving in the war. Americans at home were showing their support by growing vegetables in neighborhood Victory Gardens on land usually donated by those with ground to spare, by submitting to a higher tax to pay the exorbitant cost of the war, and by doing their bit to save on the use of gas, the latter item so severely needed by our troops.

Mr. President, there is meaning to the fact that during World War II, our best and brightest citizens rushed to join the military, while now no similar action is being taken by our citizens to rush to the aid of those heroic American soldiers now fighting and dying in Iraq.

Mr. President, you have failed us over the past 31/2 years, and it is time for you to behave as a true leader by accepting this fact and reversing your course.

Mr. President, our nation is indeed making a sad sacrifice for this war. With each passing day, we lose a bit of our nation's great name and ideals. It is time for you to awaken to today's reality and to reset our nation's course toward a better place.

Ian Wachstein
Collingswood

And in a similar vein, this Guest Opinion appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times on New Years’ Eve, written by Theodore Cohen of Middletown Township, Pa.

Recently, while browsing the channels on satellite XM Radio, I chanced upon a World War II-era rebroadcast of the Fibber McGee and Molly comedy show. What caught my attention as I listened was not so much the corny humor, but rather, the commercial for S.C. Johnson’s Self-Polishing Glo-Coat Wax, which was integrated into the script of the show.

Voice by announcer Harlow Wilcox, the commercial asserted that using Glo-Coat made life easier for the tired war worker because he could come home from the factory to a beautiful house. The show triggered memories of hearing other shows to which my parents listened that featured the likes of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and others…all of whom took time during their weekly radio shows to refer to the war, thank our troops, and buoy the spirits of citizens everywhere.

Then, the war permeated every aspect of our lives. This was no war that found visibility only on the evening news or the lower half of our newspaper’s front page. The war was in front of us, every hour of every day.

It would have been strange not to find a youngster who wasn’t building a ball made of tin foil for eventual sale to the local rag merchant, who in turn recycled it through the defense industry, or not to see our parents struggling with books of ration stamps for gasoline, sugar, and other commodities. The war effort came first.

By the way, if you "mouse over" the photo of actress Rita Hayworth, you'll see that I included it to show her own sacrifice of car parts on behalf of the war effort.

Everyone (everyone!) knew and accepted, some begrudgingly, that they had a personal stake in the outcome of the conflicts in Europe and the Pacific. In shared sacrifice the American people found a common bond that galvanized their determination to defeat two enemies and gave rise to what many think of as the greatest generation in the history of our country.

Contrast this with what passes for the “home front” today. Compared to the population at large, only a relatively few – our military personnel, their families, closest friends, and employers – live with a real day-to-day awareness of the War on Terror. For them, all have given some and, tragically, some have given all.

Those who have returned maimed or disfigured will carry the memories of this war with them the rest of their lives. But what about the rest of us? What do we perceive that we have at risk on a daily basis? Where’s the shared sacrifice and bond that develops among peoples in joining the fight at home as opposed to the battlefields half a world away?

How can we, the average citizens of this country, contribute to strengthening our nation at a time when it is beset by challenges both foreign and domestic that present a diversity of threats to our lives and those of future generations?

Know, first, that this is not about drumming up support for what clearly is an unpopular war in Iraq. It is about calling on our leaders to, well, exhibit some leadership! It’s a call for the legislative and executive branches of our government to prioritize the critical issues that we now or will face over the next 20 years and propose, debate, compromise on and adopt realistic solutions that will help us avoid the catastrophic consequences that might otherwise befall our nation as a result of a potentially failed war on terror; an insatiable appetite for oil; large and growing budget deficits that mortgage our future to foreign powers; large and growing unfunded social security, Medicare, and Medicaid liabilities; and a potential flu pandemic (among others).

As we have shown in the past, be it in winning the peace in Europe and the Far East during WWII or coming together following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when the American people are properly motivated to achieve solutions to problems of immense proportions in ways that contribute to the common good, there is nothing that we can’t achieve together.

But it takes leadership from those we have elected to the highest positions in the land. Will the president and the next Congress meet the challenge? Will we be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve the goals set before us? Time will tell.

As Mr. Cohen said, there is nothing we can’t do when our leaders truly lead.

I’m glad I happened to come across the writings of Mr. Wachstein and Mr. Cohen on this, because, as I try to comprehend the full measure of my loathing and disgust with this president and his cabal of crooks, I sometimes cannot find the words to communicate how I truly feel, particularly to their "pay no price, bear no burden" attitude about Iraq and the legitimate war on terror.

And when I am unable to find words for something, believe me that that’s saying a lot right there.