So a friend told me that according to Human Rights Watch (and her, apparently), the genocide in Iraq is far greater now than when Saddam Hussein was in power. This came as a shock to me because I knew that the definition of marriage was under attack, but not "genocide" too. Genocide now is apparently the killing of anyone for any reason, regardless of the context or causes of their death. This would bring the liberation of Europe and Asia into levels of genocide that far exceed any other travesty this world has ever seen. Oddly, I didn't hear about Human Rights Watch condemning the D-Day Celebrations. This all got me thinking.
Liberalism's classic style of fighting is this: they oppose conservatives by accusing conservatives of being that which conservatives oppose. Reagan's opposition of communism and his subsequent building of arms wasn't a move for peace, but towards mutually assured destruction. Saddam invaded Kuwait for oil and a sea port, so when the US first opposed Saddam, it was us who were hungry for oil. When conservatives oppose abortion to give the unborn freedom's breath, conservatives are accused of being anti-choice. When GW goes into Iraq to stabilize the region, hold secure possible weapons of destruction, and to destroy rape rooms, it turns out that GW is the genocidist. Liberals call us racists, yet oppose wars to free Kurds and Afghani Muslims and still find time to call Condi Rice and Gen. Powell "Uncle Toms." It is an attitude of destruction, of tearing down.
Human Rights Watch and others like them look at Iraq and see that innocents are dying. This rightfully should break our hearts. Yet, liberals don't see as clearly that terrorists are dying in Iraq, too. Iraq is not NY or Oklahoma or Indiana or Virginia. America's finest are also dying in Iraq. Men and women who have left children in the States to fulfill their duties, men and women who are making friends of Iraqis daily, men who sacrifice salaries of millions to embrace freedom's call, are dying in Iraq. Yet, it is us who are the genocidists.
I'm writing this as a way of venting my frustration. Negative Liberalism has lived for too long. It always tells us that America's best days are behind us, and that our presence, or in some sense, our very existence, should be condemned. It wasn't too long ago that America's second revolution, our Civil War, redefined who we were as a people. Father Lincoln brought us to a new era and pushed us towards a future where we would wrestle with the meaning of true liberty. Our grandfathers became the greatest generation by fighting to free Europe and Asia. Our parents lived under the cloud of Cold War and found, under Linclon's heir, new victory. President Reagan challenged us to be a nation of light, a shining city on a hill, and to see beyond the limits of our own abilities. As his world dimmed into mental darkness, he told us that our best days were ahead.
See, America hasn't just survived its challenges. It has dominated them. My children will live in a better, safer world, not because the world has made itself so, but because we have made the world so. Despite the haggling of negative liberals, we know what Truth is. We know that rape rooms are inherently evil, and that war is a means, not an end. We know that freedom has a high cost, not only to to he who is liberated, but to the liberator as well. Yet Freedom calls us like an insatiable muse, and Heaven sees the struggles of its creations.
Today, we stand at a crossroads. This November's election will define the direction of our struggle. It may be the turning point in defining our role as freedom's sentry. When our children's children read about our generation, let it be with tearful pride, that despite the critics and naysayers, we drew our swords and stood our ground. We met destiny on the battlefield of our choosing and won.
