This blog from just over a year ago, wrote itself. I was enraged and sickened by the events described. I still feel that too little attention was paid to the outrageous behavior that took place. May God comfort the families of those killed or injured, may He keep our troops from harm, and may He make us deserving of their sacrifices.
Like many Americans, I have strong feelings about the proposed health care bill. For right now, that is irrelevant. I don’t care if you truly think this is a necessary and vital piece of legislation or if you think it will destroy the American economy and way of life. What matters is that the vote that occurred in the House of Representatives this past Saturday night is a badge of shame that is indelibly inked on the lapel of each and every politician who voted or curried votes for its passage.
Let’s review the occurrences of the week. On Thursday, a man who frequently and openly proclaimed his anti-Americanism killed over a dozen soldiers who were under the protection of Uncle Sam. He wounded dozens more. These soldiers’ commander-in-chief made a perfunctory statement for the press and immediately moved on to his priority, health care. He could have insisted that his place this weekend was at the side of his wounded troops. He didn’t. He could have refused to discuss legislation while the bodies of those that were under his command lay unburied. He didn’t. As the head of the Democratic Party he could have questioned whether the Executive and Legislative branches which his party control bear some responsibility for this terrorist act, perhaps by not recognizing that someone who kills in the name of Allah is a terrorist even if they are not under direct orders from a recognized enemy. There could have been some hesitation, some acknowledgment that this wasn’t a natural catastrophe but one which calls for action if it is not to be duplicated.
Democrats bristle when their patriotism is called into question. There was an opportunity this Saturday to make a principled stand. In the entire House of Representatives where was the patriotic politician who called a press conference and refused to vote for a bill – despite the fact that he or she supported it – because the timing was unseemly? And yes, the onus was on those who supported the bill since it was at their insistence that the vote was called for this weekend.
Instead of sacred honor, they opted for shameful hubris; instead of principled patriotism, they chose pompous power seeking. Most of these inflated egos will give speeches on Veteran’s Day presenting themselves as devoted to the troops. Anyone of them who did not stand up and denounce a leadership that insisted they stay in the capital and vote on Saturday rather than fly to visit the wounded, comfort the mourners or spend the day honoring the victims by visiting military bases and hospitals, deserves to be greeted with disdain. The least they can do now, after the fact, is cancel any planned Veteran Day speeches and appearances. Their behavior this past weekend will still be shameful, but they needn’t add hypocrisy to the brew.
You’re right, Susan. The Ft. Hood massacre did not get enough exposition and the brazenness of a president who put his political goal over respect for the dead was shameful. Now, a year later, there’s hope to dismantle the health care fiasco, but we can’t undo the lack of honor to those murdered by an Islamic whacko. And, to my mind, it seems that Islam is gaining greater respect than it ever had before. Certainly Muslims have made headway in positioning themselves as a “normal” part of the American mainstream. I fear this is dangerous.
You’re right, Susan. The Ft. Hood massacre did not get enough exposition and the brazenness of a president who put his political goal over respect for the dead was shameful. Now, a year later, there’s hope to dismantle the health care fiasco, but we can’t undo the lack of honor to those murdered by an Islamic whacko. And, to my mind, it seems that Islam is gaining greater respect than it ever had before. Certainly Muslims have made headway in positioning themselves as a “normal” part of the American mainstream. I fear this is dangerous.