If I ran the world...we'd be in worse shape than we are,
BUT
Don't you all wish that the day after 9/11 George W. had made a speech that went something like this?
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My Dad's generation is called "The Greatest Generation" with reason, but now we have our own Pearl Harbor at the twin towers. Our generation's challenge is worse than World War II in some ways because we aren't at war with an identifiable country or enemy. We have to declare war on an idea and on it's main perpetrator, Osama Bin Laden. We have to change the hearts and minds of his rank and file followers and sympathisers. We have to deal with a group of fanatic fundamentalists in an area of the world that has known corruption, poverty and political instability for all of it's recorded history... and it's a war that cannot be won by our armed intervention.
But it can be won!
It can only be won by the participation of every citizen in the USA. Our immediate target has to be imported oil. We MUST issue a challenge to the entire middle east in these simple words. We will expend any amount of money necessary to build wind generators, solar power, hydrogen fuel cells - or any other alternative sources of energy. We will restrict our travel in cars and trucks until we starve OPEC into non-existance!
We will not stop until we see the dead body of Osama Bin Laden and his main henchmen.
We will not interfere with the internal governments of any middle eastern states that remain peaceful towards the USA; but we will encourage those governments to bring violent terrorists within their borders to justice, and we will do this by economic pressure. It may take a year, it may take 10 years... but this is the way we bring the people who killed 4000 civilians of every race, creed, color and nationality in New York City yesterday.
I am calling on Americans to do these simple things. If you have two cars, use the one that gets the best mileage for your daily driver. Business owners, can some of your workers be scheduled to work 4 days, 10 hours per day? This will cut their transportation costs by 20%. For each person who does drive to work... ONE day per week, carpool or take a bus. Cut your weekly travel by another 20%. When you go to church or to a grocery store, share a ride with a neighbor whenever possible. If you are physically able, walk to the neighborhood convenience store instead of riding in your car. Plan your shopping so that you only have to do it once a week. If it's cold outside, turn your thermostat down two degrees and put on a sweater. Buy a bicycle and use it.
We don't need to destroy our American lifestyle to fight this war, but we do need to use restraint, common sense and forethought. If you want to go on vacation GO. If you want to go out to a restaurant or a play, do so. Just don't do it three nights a week. Ask yourself whether saving one more gallon of gas might be the gallon that brings these terrorists to judgement. We can keep our economy strong and growing by home growing our own new energy sources, and investing in our own energy independence.
We will have to do a better job of patrolling our borders, our airways and our ground transportation grids. We'll have to be watchful because another attempt could come at any time, at any place... but most of all we have to remember that for every Islamic terrorist who wants to destroy America there are 100 Moslems who want their contries to BE America. All we have to do is convince the 100 that THEY can't tolerate terrorists within their own borders.
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I'd bet Osama's family would have done him in within a year if we'd have declared war that way.... and stayed the course.
If we simply take the time to remember - gas dropped from $1.55 per gallon to $1 per gallon for almost three months after the twin towers fell. BECAUSE WE STAYED HOME and didn't party. I have to wonder how many wind farms could have been built with the money we've spent on this war.
We can't undo what we've done in the past, but we could bring our troops home NOW and declare this war tomorrow. What will it cost us? A helluva lot less at the pump, that's what.
Sorry for the rant, but if you want to, send a copy of this to the nominee of your choice.
Paula