War

As evil as it may seem, often necessary and perhaps indispensable, war is a part of life. Never in history has there been a period of world peace. There is always an aggressor and a need to defend. I think it naive that liberals seem to think the world would be a "better" place without Bush. Not to say it is better with him, but really, does it matter what leadership commands?

I would argue that such answers lay in history. Notorious, almost, for our individualism, America has long been the home of cowboys and movie stars; big business and arrogance. Yet, for all the symbolism and pretense, I think that America's role in history is undercut by, in a sense, "macrohistoric" factors. Not to digress, but only to name a few: Hitler, Vietnam, the League of Nations and the United Nations, China, and the Soviet Union.

So what does that mean? It means that our relation to the history is defined by our relationships and actions, not by our essential purpose or meaning. Today, for example, America is known as an aggressive hegemon; a dictator of democracy. That makes to no sense. I would argue that America is a great counter balance to world powers such as Europe, now the EU, China and the nations and factions that comprise the Muslim world. Our decidedly Christian, moral, individualistic, "arrogant", powerful, a proactive existence makes the world better because without it, the void would be filled...and filled by something most likely much worse.

I say worse because the balance is rather clear. This is not Huntington's Clash of Civilizations. This is bigger than that. The world is going to be divided in the future, and that divide will be more than politics of war and peace. It will be a divide of existence, and the US's existence is only one half of that. The existence of the other side, the "pro-peace", pro-apathy, pro-state, pro-appeasement, pro-elite is clear. It was through appeasement and pro-peace efforts that WWII started. No one was willing to stand up to Hitler and say no. And today, but for America standing up and saying No to the Muslim terrorist, where would we be? Many argue the Muslim terrorist is a reaction to the US, but that holds no water, as the saying goes. The Muslim terrorist would exist regardless, because his purpose, his mission is not to get rid of America but to seek world power. That is what it is all about. Power. And power is exactly what man has never, and will never, have. Secular power is worthless anyway since the secular is incontrollable.

The power of war to change things is undeniable. The loss that America is willing to sustain to win that war is honorable, but the cost is great. The sad thing is, we will loose this war with the terrorists; it cannot be won. But the noble thing to do is to stand up and try anyway. The "other" side can only whine; but the existence of the American "hegemon" is balance and is powerful in and of itself. Notwithstanding the many sad and tragic stories of its founding, this nation began its formation in the 17th century, was founded in the 18th century, and continues to be in the 21st century something different from what was; something else. Something that history would one day see as a nation that stood up when others wouldn't and didn't back down from what should be done.