Fortunately, it looks like Floridians have bounced 9ui11iani's reality check, sparing us an ad nauseum barrage of commercials featuring tattered flags and burning buildings this year. But we're still going to see a lot of appeals to fear this year, because the leading Republican candidates are all still pushing the "existential struggle" meme. Unfortunately, the Democratic response to date has mostly ranged from "wimpy concession" to "active support". I think it's time to change that dramatically, and completely reframe the debate by calling on Americans to be brave, rather than afraid.
Tonight I've come to talk to you about fear.
For years, the message of the Republicans has been "Be afraid. Be very afraid.": "Be afraid of Osama bin Laden"; "Be afraid of Saddam Hussein"; "Be afraid of so-called 'Islamofascists'". They've used that message to scare you into allowing them to chip away at your freedoms; to increase the power of the government; and even to lead us into a disastrous and expensive war.
Seventy-five years ago, Franklin Roosevelt told us that "The only thing we have to fear is fear, itself". Today, alas, that's not the case: we should be afraid. There are people out there who want to hurt us, who have done so in the past, and will keep trying to do so again. But we should have a sensible level of fear, and the courage to see the real risks, and do what needs to be done to address those risks.
The United States cannot be conquered. The combined military and industrial might of Germany and Japan couldn't do it. The Soviet Union, even with enough H-bombs to destroy nearly all life on the planet, couldn't do it. And a few thousand fanatics, no matter how determined they are, will certainly never do it.
Make no mistake about it: the terrorists can hurt us. They killed thousands of Americans on 9/11, and thousands of others around the world. Many thousands more are still grieving the loss of their loved ones.
But they can't kill America. They can't even cripple America: within days of their worst attack to date, Americans showed the hard work and courage that have made us great by restoring the operation of our financial markets. Those not directly touched by the tragedy quickly resumed their daily lives. And, even though the attack came in the middle of a recession, within a few months, our economy was growing again. Osama bin Laden thought he could bring America to its knees, but we barely stumbled, and carried on even as we mourned our loss.
In the past, when our nation's very existence was threatened, great sacrifices were demanded of the entire country. In World War II, almost an entire generation of American men went into battle, while the folks at home worked long hours making equipment and supplies, and made do with less of the food and materials needed for the troops.
In times of lesser threats, the sacrifice was not so widely shared: these days, only a small percentage of our men and women face the dangers of armed service, while most of us are only asked to give up a little of our income to pay the costs of supporting their efforts.
Meeting the threat of terrorism will require sacrifices of us all. Only a few of us are needed to take up arms. But we must all sacrifice a little convenience, such as spending extra time for security screening at airports and other vulnerable targets.
And we must all give up a little bit of our privacy, because privacy conceals the actions of those who would harm us just as it conceals our own. But we must never dishonor the sacrifice of the millions of Americans who gave up their time, their comfort, and even their lives to secure the blessings of liberty for us by giving it up lightly. And we must remain constantly on guard to ensure that those whom we allow into our zone of privacy don't abuse that power.
From the very beginning of our country, American have prided ourselves on recognizing that the freedoms we cherish are not free, that they include the risk that some will abuse them. Benjamin Franklin warned us that "Those who sacrifice essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither". At times, we have ignored that advice, and it has nearly always turned out to be a matter of shame when viewed through the lens of history.
For too long, we have avoided an honest and vigorous debate about the threat we face, and what we should do to confront it. We have allowed those who would manipulate us with fear to say "Trust us. We're making you safer.", only to discover that they have concealed the the extent of their encroachments on our liberty, and misjudged the nature and extent of the threat.
It's time for Americans to stand up and say "We will never allow the terrorists take our freedoms, or allow those who represent us to decide in secret which of our liberties they'll respect". We must ensure that those who protect us have the tools and authority they need. But we owe it to those who have given us the gift of liberty, and to those to whom we will pass it along, to ensure we give the government only the authority is absolutely needs and to ensure that that authority is not abused.
Every day, Americans around the world do heroic deeds, and risk their lives, to protect our freedom. We must not fail them by giving it away here at home.
I was tempted to add a passage about Iran, and not being stampeded into war again. But I'm thinking that it might be too much for one speech, and might come across as a "scolding" for a a failure I think many are still feeling guilty about. Perhaps that topic could be a separate speech to counter a future beating of the Iran war drums?
The big question is: will today's Americans respond to a "call to courage" the way previous generations did, and examine the terror threat rationally? Or have the Bushies and other players of the fear card read the public mood correctly?
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