Our Forefathers Fought for This?
By Zack Nguyen
March 23, 1998
The America I love can be found in the moments after her greatest crisis -- the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Before this, the mood of the country was undoubtedly isolationist. So much so in fact that Franklin Roosevelt -- who saw the big picture better than perhaps any president since Lincoln -- had to prepare America for this inevitable war in secret.
Some of the preparations were illegal. Some, such as allowing British Intelligence to operate on American soil and in some cases against American citizens, would have resulted in his immediate impeachment.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, however, the country did a miraculous
180 degree turn. Young men dropped what they were doing when they heard
the news of the Japanese attack and rushed to the nearest recruiting office
to enlist. America got behind the war effort with one supreme effort and
saved freedom as we now know it.I am convinced that if this occurred today few would volunteer. There would be massive demonstrations against a draft. News reports would be filled with "commentators" questioning our moral authority to attack the Japanese. (After all, didn't we cut off their oil supply?) Pundits would demand that "sanctions be given time to work." Feminists would work to ensure an equal representation of women within the fighting forces. We would be assured by anxious politicians, with a nervous eye on the poll numbers, that we would pursue a diplomatic resolution before resorting to "limited and targeted military action." The idea that freedom is more precious than life itself would somehow fail to enter the debate.
I am not, of course, touting an "our country, right or wrong" approach. Some of our military actions are not deserving of American support. Vietnam, while a good idea (containing communism around the globe), was planned and executed incompetently by the politicians in charge. I am also convinced that the recent Iraq crisis would have been a grave misstep had it deteriorated to military action.
How does all this relate to America's most recent Crisis of the Presidential Libido? Just as few young people would bother to interrupt their lives for the sake of their country, few Americans are willing to interrupt their lives to bother with what they know in their hearts to be a dangerous lack of character in our nation's highest office.
Consider what one union member stated about this scandal after Clinton's recent speech to her organization on Tuesday: "As long as he does his job, I don't care what he does in his personal life." Or another: "It doesn't bother me at all. I just want to know his secret!"
It is a testament to the greatness of this country that morons like this are given the right to vote. These people obviously left their brains at the door when they entered the voting booth. It is continually amazing that there are those so blinded by partisanship or naked self-interest that they will fail to see what is sitting in front of their noses.
And what of public officials that do the same, except it is not just their personal integrity on the line, but the safety and integrity of this nation that they sacrifice for their own partisan gain?
An excellent example is White House Communications Director Ann Lewis who brought attention to Willey's extensive correspondence with Bill Clinton, pointing out that it remained cordial after the alleged incident with Willey even asking for a job on several occasions. "It is such a contradiction," she states, thereby attempting to cast doubt on Willey's story.
Here was Ann Lewis in 1991 regarding the Anita Hill scandal, and Ms. Hill's tendency to write Judge Thomas asking for support: "You have this really prestigious and powerful boss and you think you have to stay on the right side of him, or for the rest of your working life he could nix another job."
Conservatives, also, are whistling a different tune. Many who doubted Anita Hill's testimony on the basis of her continued contact with Judge Thomas are dismissing protests from the left that Kathleen Willey's correspondence contradicts her testimony.
Perhaps the answer can be found in Maureen Dowd's recent column, where she describes her own experiences with an overly-exuberant employer. She was faced with the difficult decision of being offered a much-needed job from a lecherous boss or being faced with no job at all. Ms. Dowd, as many people no doubt would have, chose to take the job. Possibly Ms. Willey was faced with the same dilemma, especially after her husband committed suicide and left hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid debts. Ms. Willey is a political supporter of the President, and obviously admired him greatly. Like many victimized women, she simply wanted to forget the incident and move on.
Just to be bipartisan (which is the new buzzword these days), I believe Republicans have a great deal of explaining to do regarding their own self-interested behavior during the Clinton years. Contrary to popular perception, their pursuit of Clinton scandals has been tepid at best, and at times they have outright ignored damning evidence. Though unrelated to the current scandal, consider this quote from a 1995 column by Paul Weyrich "Let's Put Vince Foster to Rest" which captures the essence of Washington culture:
There are so many issues in this case which don't add up.
Yet
almost no one in either the journalistic or political community wants
to pursue the matter. I frankly find that hard to understand. One
Republican Congressman, when I pressed him on the subject, told
me 'Look. The implications of the whole Foster mess are too much
for us to deal with. Our whole system of government could be affected
if the outcome were as bad as some of you suggest it might
be. It is better to just leave well enough alone.'Such leadership! If we don't elect our leaders to make the tough choices for the good of the country, then what do we elect them to do?
Many voters are overcome with frustration that no one, either in politics or government, seems willing to hold Bill Clinton accountable for his base and sordid actions. Indeed, they seem willing to sacrifice the future good of America for their own immediate political gain. There would be no need for term limits if voters would simply get rid of politicians who have no interest in leadership. But that will only happen when America decides that they want a government worthy of the country that so many died to preserve.
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Coffee Shop Times commentator Zack Nguyen.