A good friend of ours (hint: guest blogger in the past) is about as fine and upstanding patriotic American as one will find. An unabashed flag waver with an excellent grasp of this nation's history and struggles against the forces of tyranny abroad. He also happens to be a registered Democrat.
This is mentioned only as an introduction to an excellent piece from Andrew Sullivan's blog (author is a guest blogger but the content of Sullivan's site would never be confused for "conservative") lamenting the demise of the anti-authoritarian Left.
There was a time when the guiding principles of the Democratic Party were rooted in this anti-authoritarian sense of human justice. When one looks back at most of the major military conflicts this nation embroiled itself in during the 20th century and who was the Commander-in-Chief, it becomes apparent that it was done as much for this principle as any tactical or strategic means to national security ends.
This nation's war efforts in World War I, the European theater of WWII and the Vietnam War were led by highly ambitious and highly idealistic men in the persons of Woodrow Wilson, FDR and JFK, Democrats all, who grasped the strategic AND moral obligation this country had in combatting this country's (and freedom's) enemies in each respective conflict.
....something happened, though, during the late 60s and early 70s that purged the Democratic Party of this principle. Well, that "something" was the hi-jacking of the Party by the McGovern wing and to this day, it is clear the residing philosophy contained therein is the M.O. of the Party.
Think about it: When was the last time you heard a leading Democrat talk about "freedom" or "liberty" in the context of foreign policy? Hell, when was the last time you heard a leading Democrat talk about the same at all except in the context of some as yet undetected Constitutional right to abortion on demand?
It appears that since the 60s, they've been too busy cozying-up to dictators from Ho Chi Minh to Daniel Ortega or being apologists for Soviet leaders and even Sadaam Hussein to be bothered with all this freedom and liberty talk. This talk has become exclusively the domain of the Republicans and it shouldn't or needn't be that way. As B-Daddy has pointed out in the previous post, the West as a whole should not be ashamed of promoting and advertising the concepts of freedom and liberty... they work... all else is pure folly.
The latest video of UBL betrays the liberal-Left, again. At the same time they slam Bush for taking his "eye off the ball" in not capturing the man ultimately behind 9/11, they find UBL's "talking points" all a little too familiar and too close to home and now Bush is blamed for making UBL this larger-than-life figure and which has contributed to an exaggeration of the threat of terrorism and to a "climate of fear" in this nation. And worse, because it appears he has been doing quite a bit of reading from the DailyKos and Huffington Post, they now paint UBL as some sort unhinged, crazed lune who is no longer a threat to us or anyone else. Sorry, can't have it both ways.
A big, fat..... "...whatever..." to these people. Here is to my friend, a good liberal and more importantly, a good and patriotic American and to the hopes that he can take his own Party back.
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