:: Some thoughts... ::

:: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 ::

The Last Heroes

Whether you agree with the war that is coming, or I should say has been provoked by Saddam Hussein, it remains the last ride of the last heroes. Whether you believe America is the greatest threat to world peace or that actually terrorism is the real threat, there is something that cannot be denied, and that is that the United States is different. It was founded by groups of people who left their native lands, their homes, and their families for a dream. A dream of streets paved in gold or a place where one was free to think, to worship, even to dream the impossible. Today, America even though she is much older retains some of those same dreams and outlooks. People from many nations and many colors come here to live their dreams, to explore new opportunities, and create new lives. It is this idea that unites America. It is not race, nor creed, nor color, it is a belief and a desire for the same things. It is also a belief in the goodness of the human spirit. A "Wilsonian" idealism if you will that believes in man, that given the right institutions, a relatively just society can be created, a society like America. This is by no means to say that America is indeed perfectly just for who or what can be, but America sees her own injustices and seeks to correct them. We, Americans seek justice, and not just for ourselves. This is by no means the only spirit that animates our current foreign policy. The other is the spectre of September 11th. The President and others in Washington do not want something like that to happen on their watch. So, today our soldiers ride not on horses like Bucephalus, but on iron needs named Abrams and Bradley. They soar in the air in Eagles, and Tomcats.

All over the world America is looked to as the savior of last resort. The one power that can indeed change the world. At times, many resent this intrusion of
"history" into their time warped coccoons. They also resent their own impotency in the face of danger, and like the lowly ostrich they keep their heads stuck in the sand. Read the newspapers and there they are on the front pages, nations that were once great but who time has passed by.

After the end of the Cold War Francis Fukuyama wrote a book about the "End of History." He essentially argued that liberal democracy had prevailed in the last ideological war. In some countries and in some states this was the case, they lived in a post-modern bliss where nothing mattered. There wasn't right or wrong, only opinions. The only truth that exists in these states is this desire for peace and bliss. They have had enough war and are old and tired. The United States also seemed to be settling into this mode. Under the Clinton Administration, problems were to be resolved through carrots and negotiations, and the army was a tool of social welfare and reform rather than the tip of the spear. Unfortunately, history and indeed the nature of humanity has a way of catching up. On a bright sunny morning, fire came from above. Our own planes, were crashed into some of our greatest buildings. Over 3,000 souls perished that dreadful day. For those who could see, the road ahead was rocky, and rough, but the hero knows he must take that road. Some wished to ignore what had happened, and maybe if we did that it would go away. Expressing the American penchant for self-examination, many asked, "why do they hate us?" Unfortunately this was the wrong question. The wrong people were asking that question. The terrorist-murderers should have been asking themselves, why do I hate them. What drives a man to kill women and children? What drives a man to give his own life for the mass murder of others? These are questions, that I can't answer, nor do I care to answer. All I can say is that people sometimes fight for the strangest things.
For many Americans, September 11th was a defining moment. Evil had a face, and had a name. The world was not a post modern fairy tale, where we all got along happily, but a truly dangerous place, and if Americans valued their dreams, they would have to fight.
The terrorists that day fought in the manner of the forefathers. They fought as Arabs have and steppe people have fought for centuries upon centuries. They fought to instill fear, and to intimidate the other side into retreat. No steppe army or Arab army has defeated a determined Western power on the field of battle. The US under President Bush did not choose the path of fear or retreat but the path of vengeance, and of self protection. And then the last heroes rode into battle. They rode not seeking to take territory or booty, but to savage their enemies and bring liberation to a people under tyranny. In Iraq, the last heroes ride again, and who knows how many more times they will ride. They ride because they believe. They believe in the humanity of people, that as President Bush said, "freedom is not America's gift to the world, but God's gift to humanity." Indeed this is true, freedom is God's gift.

God gave us that gift to seek Him, and His kingdom. Oh how I want to believe that the last heroes will succeed, that goodness could break out in this world, and that peace will break out, but we know that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. One day, that vigilance will go. Like the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra, confident in their power and the strength of their sword they fell to the Thebans. Or the pride of Rome, the city that slowly fell away as they forget what it meant to be Roman. As they became lax and content with their gluttony and wealth. In those times, especially in Roman times, men turned to God. So again, it will happen. The seeds are already being prepared today. More and more people across the United States are making this "the Foruth Great Awakening." In the long term, we know that man cannot sustain his power by the strength of his own bow, but must rely on God. In the end God, seeks to make us realize that we need Him. And that is what will happen. Whether it be soon, or many years from now, with certainty we know that the last heroes will ride out to battle, and then ride no more. In that time, we will pray for there will be nothing left. In that time, God will be most needed and as is His way, He will be most near.

:: Nathan 7:34 PM [+] ::
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