Progress Now Action

There has been much criticism of Thomas Friedman and his stance with regard to Mr. Bush's Iraq war, but I will give credit where credit is due.  I could not agree more with his most recent column entitled, "Who Will Tell the People?"  It seems that if he is reaching out to the pulse of the public versus living in the D.C. echo chamber it is refreshing to read this:

Traveling the country these past five months while writing a book, I’ve had my own opportunity to take the pulse, far from the campaign crowds. My own totally unscientific polling has left me feeling that if there is one overwhelming hunger in our country today it’s this: People want to do nation-building. They really do. But they want to do nation-building in America.

What do we ask of ourselves?  What will this generation leave for the sons and daughters?  It is a wail and gnashing of teeth and beating of breast to know that this nation, our country is on a path towards decay.  Mr. Friedman writes:

A few weeks ago, my wife and I flew from New York’s Kennedy Airport to Singapore. In J.F.K.’s waiting lounge we could barely find a place to sit. Eighteen hours later, we landed at Singapore’s ultramodern airport, with free Internet portals and children’s play zones throughout. We felt, as we have before, like we had just flown from the Flintstones to the Jetsons. If all Americans could compare Berlin’s luxurious central train station today with the grimy, decrepit Penn Station in New York City, they would swear we were the ones who lost World War II.

We are bombarded with the corporate media drum beat of "We, America, U.S. of A., is the greatest nation on the planet."  But then when those in power who are afraid to confront Americans with hard truths it is a disservice to this nation.  Mr. Bush and his cohort is afraid of the truth because it is only the truth that will bring the unblinding of the American people to understand that we now must roll up our sleeves for the hard work of justice.  To heal the wounds that have been inflicted on the bedrock of this nation- the Constitution, rule of law, and the dignity of being human.

This is what Thomas Friedman leaves out when he writes:

Much nonsense has been written about how Hillary Clinton is “toughening up” Barack Obama so he’ll be tough enough to withstand Republican attacks. Sorry, we don’t need a president who is tough enough to withstand the lies of his opponents. We need a president who is tough enough to tell the truth to the American people. Any one of the candidates can answer the Red Phone at 3 a.m. in the White House bedroom. I’m voting for the one who can talk straight to the American people on national TV — at 8 p.m. — from the White House East Room.

I'm sick of listening to the demagogery by two of the presidential candidates and that it is only an external "Other" which threatens us.  I am not afraid of the motley band of "evil doers" because our belief in our ideals is our strength not in the billions of dollars that have been spent on weapons and standing armies.  

I stand with the Founders of this nation on bedrock principals embodied within the three documents- the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  We have come to grief only when we deviate from our ideals.