Revdarth.com

As he often does, my friend Drew got me thinking this morning with a blog post. He is reflecting upon some of the pieces of Sarah Palin’s interview with Charles Gibson tonight on 20/20.  I have not seen the interview as yet (although the Tivo is set to record) and I have only seen a few clips.  That being said, I grow concerned with the perspectives of our politicians (Republican and Democrat) who seem to not mention the P-word in connection with talking about terrorism in our day and age.  Yes, I do think that Islamic terrorism is a threat that needs to be taken seriously in our world today.  But we do not hear George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, or Sarah Palin talking about aggression against terrorists (or countries that are potentially harboring terrorists) as actions trying to find a new and lasting peace in our world.  Instead, the focus is on us - on our national security, on our safe borders, on our standing in the world.  Are we fighting this war on terrorism in order that we just defeat the terrorists or to create a new and lasting peace in the world?

The contrasts between World War I and World War II reflect some of this.  When World War I ended, the treaties that were signed ended up leading towards the depression and bankruptcy of the German government that fostered the environment where the Nazis could come to power in the 1930s.  The Treaty of Versailles was a punitive treaty that required Germany (especially) to pay for the war debts incurred by other countries.  This vast debt bankrupted the German government and made German currency essentially useless.  The bitterness and anger from this in Germany allowed a strong nationalist party such as the Nazis to appeal to a sense of “restoring the motherland” and the Nazis came to power.  Yes, this is a simplification of the issues, but this gives an overall sense of what took place after World War I.

When World War II ended, it was an entirely different story.  There was a commitment on the part of the victorious Allies to rebuild Germany, Europe, Japan, etc in order that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated.  That’s why there was the incredible investment in Germany and Japan by the Allies to rebuild the countries.  It was not a punitive ending to the war and one that punished the people of the Axis countries, but instead sought to rebuild their lives while punishing those who were responsible for the wars (Nuremberg trials, etc).

So, what are we doing today?  Are we seeking to foster a lasting peace in our world?  Are roots of terrorism in the ways that we, as a country, are perceived around the world and are we doing anything to change that perception?  Or are we seeking to just focus on killing Bin Laden and bombing terrorist hideouts while not being concerned about how these things are perceived in the Islamic world?

As I was thinking about this, I came across a speech that Franklin Roosevelt was to give on April 13, 1945.  It was a speech that he was never able to deliver as he died the day before.  His words, however, are very forward thinking to what we face today and about what we could do as a nation and as a world in order to create a latsing peace.

From The American Presidency Project: (boldfaced lines emphasized by me)

Americans are gathered together this evening in communities all over the country to pay tribute to the living memory of Thomas Jefferson-one of the greatest of all democrats; and I want to make it clear that I am spelling that word “democrats” with a small d.

I wish I had the power, just for this evening, to be present at all of these gatherings.

In this historic year, more than ever before, we do well to consider the character of Thomas Jefferson as an American citizen of the world.

As Minister to France, then as our first Secretary of State and as our third President, Jefferson was instrumental in the establishment of the United States as a vital factor in international affairs.

It was he who first sent our Navy into far-distant waters to defend our rights. And the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine was the logical development of Jefferson’s far-seeing foreign policy.

Today this Nation which Jefferson helped so greatly to build is playing a tremendous part in the battle for the rights of man all over the world.

Today we are part of the vast Allied force—a force composed of flesh and blood and steel and spirit—which is today destroying the makers of war, the breeders of hatred, in Europe and in Asia.

In Jefferson’s time our Navy consisted of only a handful of frigates headed by the gallant U.S.S. Constitution—Old Ironsides—but that tiny Navy taught Nations across the Atlantic that piracy in the Mediterranean—acts of aggression against peaceful commerce and the enslavement of their crews—was one of those things which, among neighbors, simply was not done.

Today we have learned in the agony of war that great power involves great responsibility. Today we can no more escape the consequences of German and Japanese aggression than could we avoid the consequences of attacks by the Barbary Corsairs a century and a half before.

We, as Americans, do not choose to deny our responsibility.

Nor do we intend to abandon our determination that, within the lives of our children and our children’s children, there will not be a third world war.

We seek peace—enduring peace. More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars—yes, an end to this brutal, inhuman, and thoroughly impractical method of settling the differences between governments.

The once powerful, malignant Nazi state is crumbling. The Japanese war lords are receiving, in their own homeland, the retribution for which they asked when they attacked Pearl Harbor.

But the mere conquest of our enemies is not enough.

We must go on to do all in our power to conquer the doubts and the fears, the ignorance and the greed, which made this horror possible.

Thomas Jefferson, himself a distinguished scientist, once spoke of “the brotherly spirit of Science, which unites into one family all its votaries of whatever grade, and however widely dispersed throughout the different quarters of the globe.”

Today, science has brought all the different quarters of the globe so close together that it is impossible to isolate them one from another.

Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships—the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together and work together, in the same world, at peace.

Let me assure you that my hand is the steadier for the work that is to be done, that I move more firmly into the task, knowing that you—millions and millions of you—are joined with me in the resolve to make this work endure.

The work, my friends, is peace. More than an end of this war —an end to the beginnings of all wars. Yes, an end, forever, to this impractical, unrealistic settlement of the differences between governments by the mass killing of peoples.

Today, as we move against the terrible scourge of war—as we go forward toward the greatest contribution that any generation of human beings can make in this world- the contribution of lasting peace, I ask you to keep up your faith. I measure the sound, solid achievement that can be made at this time by the straight edge of your own confidence and your resolve. And to you, and to all Americans who dedicate themselves with us to the making of an abiding peace, I say:

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.

What if these words were delivered today by a presidential candidate? Why are we not hearing similar words that both acknowledge the reality of war in the world, but also focus on the hoped-for end result of war being a full and lasting peace not just for one country but for all. That’s someone I could vote for.