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Guest Commentary July 30, 2002
It's Time We Got Back to Doing the Things That Are Hard
The Honorable John Kerry
America's vision is not and never has been limited to domestic concerns. ...
Woodrow Wilson built the Federal Reserve System, and championed groundbreaking federal aid to education -- but he also made it his mission until his dying day to battle the isolationist forces and urge a League of Nations. Franklin Roosevelt was elected to tackle the Great Depression, create Social Security, and put America back to work. Shame on Republicans who conveniently forget that he did those things even as he responded to Pearl Harbor; but shame on any Democrat who forgets that he was also a Commander-in-Chief who marshaled the nation's troops from Normandy to Iwo Jima to run the risks and shoulder the sacrifices required for victory. Harry Truman inherited that standard of leadership and staked his reputation on a Marshall Plan to rebuild our former enemies. Jack Kennedy didn't try to change the subject of the debate when General Eisenhower's Vice-President brought up foreign policy -- he challenged America globally -- insisted that we do more -- that we do better -- and insisted that we do these things not because they were easy but because they were hard. ...
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It's time we got back to doing the things that are hard. Our best instincts command us to be bold and engaged -- to look outward and challenge Americans to lead on the world stage. ...We should be taking our cues not from polls or pundits but from the honesty and courage of New Yorkers when it comes to talking about the things which are important.
A country where questions are not raised, is a country where freedom is not valued -- and that is a country I want no part of. I know that our Party has a better vision for the world and our Party does have leadership to offer Americans when it comes to national security and a defense second to none -- and I say that if we are to lead, we must never take a backseat to anyone when it comes to offering a vision for the world.
Today, as I think about the challenges before us, I'm reminded of a walk I took with my father after World War II on the beaches of Normandy where thousands of young Americans died fighting for freedom. As we walked and my father pointed out burnt-out bunkers, exploded shells, and the skeletons of landing vehicles -- I saw the evidence of our nation's sacrifice everywhere. I think that beach -- where thousands died for a freedom we defend today -- symbolizes how my father and his generation -- our greatest generation -- answered the questions of their time. They had the courage to win the war, but didn't stop there -- they went farther and secured the peace -- rebuilding Europe and setting the stage to win the Cold War.
And like that generation, our generation has its own set of difficult questions. With recent events, I have to wonder -- what will historians write about this moment, what will they say about our generation, about our time?
I want to be able to look back and tell my children and grandchildren that at this critical time our generation offered the leadership and vision to build and sustain the peace even as we wage this new war on terrorism. I want to be able to say that we spoke up because yes –– when it comes to foreign policy -- our country was being denied the full measure of leadership that's needed.
When it comes to waging the wider war against terrorism, this Administration's policies have often been at cross-purposes with the President's ringing rhetoric about a global struggle for democracy, human rights, and prosperity. Their foreign policies combine unilateralist contempt for our democratic allies with a dangerous reliance on Middle Eastern autocrats -- and both of these dangerous tendencies reflect a domestic agenda dependent on energy that makes Middle Eastern oil suppliers our indispensable friends and environment-conscious Europeans our disposable enemies.
This Administration has too often done what is obvious and easy -- they say they want to spend more on the military but they've yet to unveil a military transformation we know is so badly needed; they say we're committed to securing the peace in Afghanistan, but they won't commit the American presence it takes to do it; and they say they want to drain the swamps of terrorism but isolationists in their Party are afraid to provide major American leadership in the places where terrorism will -- barring major American effort -- fester and produce the next generation of terrorists.
To win the struggle in Afghanistan and secure the peace in the Middle East, we need to utilize all our available resources: militarily where that is necessary; through effective law enforcement where that is appropriate; and through vigorous diplomacy wherever that is required.
Leadership is not words, but actions -- and tough choices. Operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Persian Gulf have highlighted the changes in military tactics and equipment needs. Outdated military equipment won't win tomorrow's battles -- a modern military means smarter, more versatile equipment, better intelligence, advanced communications, long-range air power, and highly mobile ground forces that carry enough firepower and electronic support systems to stay ahead of our enemies. ...
President Kennedy, in another time, said that, "The path we have chosen is full of hazards, as all paths are... . The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."
John Kerry, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. The above commentary has been adapted from a speech Sen. Kerry delivered at the Democratic Leadership Council's 2002 National Conversation in New York, New York, July 29, 2002. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
