THIS POST EXPRESSES THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR

Last night I read a piece on another blog that posed the question rhetorically, “Can Americans Survive the 2008 Elections” and within the subtext of that post, also questioned the leadership qualities of those people now announced and running for the Presidency in 2008.  Among those discussed was Mayor Giuliani and then, someone queried about what made Giuliani a leader and what his leadership qualities were.  It got me thinking about our Nation, and the effect the attacks of September 11, 2001 had on it.  These were my comments.

Part One of my comments:
Can Americans survive the 2008 election? Of course we can, it is afterall, “We the People.” Perhaps the question that was really asked was whether “Americans like ‘you’ can survive.” But still, it is, “We the People.”

The “more perfect union” formed by our Founders was and still is a more perfect union because the Union has survived through it all. Through its chaotic beginnings to the Civil War, through the Spanish American War, through the 1st and 2nd World War, through Korea and Vietnam, through the Cold War, and now we find ourselves in the greatest of all, the War on Terror. That, my “friends” is probably the greatest threat to the Union, in my opinion. Not because of the terrorists themselves, or the threats of another attack on our homeland, but because, IMO, of the ways in which Americans have responded and reacted to the threat. We are no longer “We the People” because it is more like the “D”s and the “R”s, or the “libs” and the “serves” and then the probably more polarizing “we” versus “they” of considering one person’s beliefs to be more important or somehow better than someone else’s.

Rudy Giuliani, for anyone who did not live within the immediate radius of New York City on September 11th was a great leader. He is(or at least was) a great leader because at that moment in time, he rose above all others and brought calm in the face of chaos and shock. He stood firm in the face of utter tragedy. He spoke with the utmost of candor while exhibiting the compassion before unseen in any leader before him…unless you saw the smoke rising first hand, unless you could see, feel and smell the death in the air, unless you saw the Mayor at the series of funerals and memorials, unless you saw the real tears in his eyes, or heard the humanly emotional quiver in his voice as he stood day after day in front of the grieving many…you cannot comprehend the leaderhip shown by Rudy Giuliani during this Nation’s time of greatest crisis.

Terrorism is a global threat. Our leadership takes what, in its judgment, is the best course. But in the end, it is “We the People” who choose our leaders.

I find what I read as a rhetorical question, “Can Americans Survive the 2006 Election?” quite odd, were it not for the fact that today, America is not one but many Americas. Examine that if you will. Are we still one people, are we still “We the People?” From my vantage point, we are not, and in that, at least in this way, the terrorists are winning.

By the way, I don’t believe that Rudy Giluiani should be President. He was a great leader in the face of crisis. I do not believe he is the leader for the next decade. I don’t know who among the candidates from either side right now is that best candidate. What I do know about Rudy is that I question his judgment of other people…and I question his temper. What, you ask?! All one has to do is remember  is loyalty to Bernie Kerick. Rudy is and was a great man, and the Man who led the New York City area out of the rubble and he inspired all of America at that time…but I hope that he is not the next President.

As for the rest for them, was observed in the original post, we are only in February 2007. Alot will be learned in the next few months…maybe someone will emerge as this Nation’s next leader. I trust that the blogsphere will do enough partisan analysis to out do the media (”traditional” or “drive by” depending upon your inclination).

We are Americans all, regardless of the very clear differences that today divide and separate us, perhaps like at no other time in our history. No matter who wins the next Presidential election, Americans will survive, and so will the Union, even if divided along the lines  of personal opinion and ideology.

Part Two of my comments:
To continue my line of thinking from last night. We were a Nation United on the afternoon of September 11th when, after the dust settled, we all understood that we had been attacked. We remained a Nation united for weeks and months thereafter.  [I remember well the scene at Yankee Stadium when the baseball season resumed, and we all, as Americans, watched, and stood and prayed, and sang our National Anthem as I did in my living room that night.]

We remained a united Nation when our troops went into Afghanistan. But regardless of what “you” or “you” or “you” think about the merits or justification for the War in Iraq, the Nation’s divisions again came to the surface, this time with more strength and emphasis on those divisions than before.

In my opinion, today we are a Nation that fears…we fear the unknown (when will the next attack occur?), we fear of our differences (instead of embracing them)…it is a fear that strikes to the core of what America is (or was). My fear is that America may have changed forever (not sure whether for the worse or for the better…”you” choose).

One of the things that has dramatically changed our Nation is the way in which people’s opinions are formed. Some say that the traditional media is responsible for shading the truth and shaping our thoughts. But, so too, is “blogdom” now responsible for shading and shaping the truth. To what extent that “truth” is factual or not is questionable since bloggers interpret events, they shape the truth in vision of their own eyes and minds. Citizen journalists write and write and write. Do they know what they’re talking about? Do they know their subjects? Or are they simply opining on words written by someone else, never knowing for certain that those words have been fact checked?

There are probably thousands of blogs writing about security and terrorism. How many of those actually have a speck of firsthand knowledge about the issues, or insight into the policies, the backroom discussions, the “off the record” statements? Few do. And yet, for many Americans, their favorite blog(s) have become their Walter Cronkites.  All well intended I believe…but how informed?

And yes, I write this little blog.  Of course, I believe that based on my daily life and business and my passion for government and policy and homeland security, my insights are at least “slightly” more informed than “others.”  But compared to the blog on which I first read the rhetorical question, my readership is probably only 10% of it…and rarely do Storm Blog readers comment, or interact. 

The divisions of our society and of our Nation along the lines of personal ideology are widening. At this point, I fear forever…and at this point, I believe that even another attack on U.S. soil would not bring us together in the way that we were on the afternoon of September 11, 2001.

Its a question of National unity.  What will bring us together?  I don’t know the answer to that question.  I do know that the other night when my wife and I went to the Rodeo, they played and sang the Star Spangled Banner.  And, as I now always do, I cried…tears streaming as I saw the flag of our Nation displayed.  My memories of that September 11th morning will never fade and my response will always be the same.

To refer to the article that prompted this personal rambling opinion, please see The Right Truth.

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