IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
# 196
September 9, 2014
“Shadow Government”
You probably have heard this term, but I think it has — unfortunately — come to a modified, and frightening, definition.
I spent a great deal of time this summer with a book in my lap. First, I delved into the subject of volcanoes. After that, I dipped back into the cache of American history, specifically the office of President of the United States.
I focused my studies on two of our chief executives, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. While some of you might find that an odd couple, it is not.
When you study their writings and speeches, you find that Kennedy and Reagan had an abiding love for and respect for America’s position in the world as a defender of freedom. Both men were fervent in their belief in the American people and the American ideal — in essence, American exceptionalism.
Both men sought to inspire the younger generations and neither one buckled under the threat of Soviet military power.
Both men stood up against the Soviet Union. One faced up to it militarily and the other used the monetary clout that would seed its collapse.
Kennedy’s naval blockade prevented the Soviets from installing missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. And as for Reagan, The Soviets demanded that he US scrap his missile defense program in exchange for eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons. Reagan stood firm and refused to dismantle his Strategic Defense Initiative. In the end the Soviet Union capitulated. Reagan was very open to working with others of different viewpoints, but his motto was “Trust, but verify.” Always make sure the other guy is holding up his end of the stick.
Kennedy claimed that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” Reagan saw America, in somewhat Biblical terms, in typical style, as a “shining city on a hill.” Neither man was oblivious to the terrible threats looming internationally, but neither man shrunk from duty.
Both not only knew the power of the American military, but also were not opposed to using it. One took office as the youngest in history, the other as the eldest. Both had a strong faith in God. Both were committed Christians.
Putting aside any human flaws, both were exemplary leaders.
We will never know what might have taken place had John Kennedy not been assassinated, but we do know that he put others above himself — evidenced by his heroism serving with the US Navy during World War II in the Pacific.
I would like to be in their presence in the afterlife to hear what they would say about the conditions we find ourselves in today. Neither man was afraid to put an enemy on notice that reminds me of one of our earlier flags. “Don’t tread on me.”
How disheartening to think of Kennedy’s and Reagan’s words when we tune in to a presidential news conference against the looming threat of Islamic terrorism. Oh, excuse me. The administration has a problem with that.
It occurs to me that if you cannot name an enemy, you cannot defeat it. Yes, this is an enemy without nation status, but it is an enemy nonetheless
— one with an unrestrained zeal to put an end to the West and its values.
That includes you and me, folks. Remember the old saying, “Better red than dead?” Well, ISIS expounds a new one. “Our life or the knife!” Sad, huh?
Alas, we find ourselves witness to the brutality of beheading. While it might be scary in a horror film, actors jump off the floor, someone in props picks up the head and filming continues. In real life such brutality is the ultimate wake-up call. We need to demand that our government step up to the plate and do something strong.
An old joke is that the camel came about as the result of a committee. I wonder if the NATO coalition is just more of the same. Where is Turkey in all this? Turkey is a NATO member, yet it is not a signatory on the recent documents in Wales. Where are the other nations in the Middle East, those most at risk? Where are Saudi Arabia, The UAE, Jordan, and Egypt? We know where Israel stands. The only democratic state in the region, Israel is fearless in the face of terror. They deal with it every day. I doubt if any of us would do so well as the average Israeli.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Israel will not back down. Constantly at risk of bombings and murders, Israelis maintain a top-notch intelligence service in their Massad, an agency that commands respect of law enforcement agencies around the world. Israelis have more than an ear to the ground. They, undoubtedly, have human assets at work.
Now, we look at the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My, for a self-proclaimed scholar, he has a problem parsing a sentence to follow the one preceding, doesn’t he? How many times have you heard him contradict himself within a few sentences? Depressing doesn’t begin to describe it.
From the moment he took office and began to apologize for America’s actions in the world, he set the stage for anyone with an axe to grind — or knife to fall — to “have at it.” And they did.
I hear all kinds of criticism of him, and the more bizarre they seem when applied to former presidents, the more they make sense when applied to him. Nuances to horrific acts of rebel fighters and the level of training compared to a JV basketball team falls short of what I consider fitting presidential rhetoric. With a dictionary full of wonderful, expressive, appropriate words, he opts for sports every time.
I think it’s about time he got on the ball instead of addressing it. He has a handicap all right, but it’s not on the golf course. With September 11th just around the corner and a porous, virtually open southern border eyed by evildoers as an easy avenue, we should all be afraid.
It will be challenging to watch what happens next. When it comes to Iraq, funneling arms through Baghdad is fruitless, because nothing ships north to the Kurds. We leave those Kurdish fighters hanging. Their impressions of American help are — pitifully — pallets of MREs.
What will it take to force this administration to do something strong? I fear it may take a replication of 9/11 or something much worse. Don’t kid yourselves that the terrorists are not here. It took them from 1993 to 2001 to take down the World Trade Center. They are patient. It’s been thirteen years. Passports are easy to get in foreign lands. Travel to and from suspect countries has continued unabated. I hear some critics claim that terrorists are hatching their plots here as well as abroad. Clearly, these barbaric people are not afraid to attack us, but why should they be? We don’t do anything when provoked. As Donald Rumsfeld once said in sage, terse terms, “Weakness is provocative.”
Attacks here on our soil? The only question is when, not if. Take a moment in your prayers to remember all those men and women sworn to protect and defend freedom. Pray that their orders reflect the strength and resolve it took to defeat Hitler and his Third Reich. Remember, the Germans killed people by the thousands daily, but they hid their evil inside the walls of concentration camps scattered across scenic countryside. Undoubtedly, German citizens living nearby knew that something odd was happening; but they were as afraid of the SS as targeted ethnicities (i.e. Jew, Gypsy, etc.).
When Allied forces liberated the camps, soldiers were aghast at what they saw. No press had reported what was happening on German soil. In contrast, ISIS (or ISIL) brazenly showcass the beheadings of journalists to the world on video. So far, it is one American from New England and one American from Florida who became an Israeli citizen. Who’s next?
What do you think John Kennedy would have done if he had seen a film of an American beheaded by a hooded villain? What would Ronald Reagan have done?
I feel confident that neither man would have hummed and hawed and searched for a response. It would have been swift and lethal. Where is an American statesman when we need him? Absent.
Why the title “Shadow Government?” The one we see today is a mere shadow of what we need. Think about it.