In which, on our way to the polls, we remember that day five years ago today when the esteemed Colin Powell, retired general officer in the U.S. Army, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then Secretary of State, argued before the United Nations General Assembly that Saddam Hussein's Iraq posed an immanent threat and so paved the way for what has been called the greatest foreign policy blunder in the history of the United States.
Many of my generation, the career captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels seasoned in that war [Vietnam], vowed that when our turn came to call the shots, we would not quietly acquiesce in halfhearted warfare for half-baked reasons that the American people could not understand.
My American Journey; Secretary Powell's autobiography, published in 1995; that is, 7 years before Powell Day.
Five years ago, Secretary Powell failed to live up to his vow; a vow he tells us was informed by the harsh lessons his generation learned in Vietnam. Today, the disaster occasioned by Mr. Powell's self-betrayal continues to spill the blood of a new generation.
I am going to vote in my state's primary today. I will vote for a candidate seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for President among other candidates seeking other offices. My vote matters and doesn't matter, my choice matters and doesn't matter. But what I am reminded of on this fifth anniversary of Colin Powell day, is that we cannot put our faith exclusively in the words, actions and presumed integrity of others. We must enact our values everyday to the best of our ability.
I will never play as big a public role as those Secretary Powell has played, but I do hope that everyday I give a better accounting of myself and my values than Mr. Powell did five years ago at the U.N. I will never play a role as big as that sought by the person I will vote for today, but I hope I will remember everyday not to put my faith exclusively in the good intentions and values of my candidate, but rather to remember that I participate in my government everyday by my choices, my actions and my interactions with others in my communities.
Vote, organize and live your values.