Did you watch The Path to 911 on ABC last night?
I didn’t. Neither did most people, including the vast majority of Republican people. Do I have to tell you why?
For gosh sakes, man, Peyton vs. Eli! Giants vs. Colts! Madden and Al Michaels on a new network! Were you ready for some football?
America was. And it was a great game, Eli running out of time an falling 26-21. (Threw two interceptions earlier in the game. But what’s up with that wimpy Colts running game? Gee they miss Edgerrin James.) With dad Archie in his suite, along with the Manning women. Followed by an embrace at midfield, surrounded by cameras.
Name me a persuadable NASCAR Dad who’s going to miss that? Show me one who won’t get a lump in his throat? (OK, maybe Cowboy or Titan fans.)
So if the people who put this craptastic pile of junk in front of us hoped to influence the national debate their way, they failed. Just as Osama Bin Laden failed.
The real story here was the push-back, not the movie itself. For the first time since the attacks, Democrats were fairly unified in standing up to a Bush Administration bullyboy move. They seemed anxious to put their tactics for the War — invest in port security — against "stay the course" or "adapt to win" or whatever other nonsense the RNC is calling this piece of FUBAR.
The real story is that our nation’s reaction to 9/11 is being seriously questioned, not just on the fringe but in the mainstream. This is important, because Americans were not given that choice in 2002 or 2004. They were given a choice between Republicans and yeah-but.
Now it may be true that Americans are ready to give in to full-on fear,
when faced with the choice of fearlessness. It may be we have grown
fat, and lazy, that we’re addicted to sensation and insensitive to one
another, that we’re as easily manipulated as, well, Arabs.
I don’t think so, myself. I think these words are as true today as when they were first spoken, over 73 years ago:
"We now realize as we have never
realized before our interdependence on each other; that we cannot
merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward,
we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the
good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no
progress is made, no leadership becomes effective."
You know who that’s from, don’t you? And it’s from the same speech.
