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Editorials - 11/07/02Post-election, a Veteran's Day reflection |
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Whatever their political affiliations and no matter whether individual candidates won or lost, there is one principle all Americans can agree on: The greatness of our country and its political system.
"The things that unite us are more powerful than the things that divide us," failed Maryland gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend graciously said Tuesday night. With this statement, Robert Kennedy's daughter made a key point about American politics and the people of the United States. Our country is greater than its member states, just as the collective effort of our citizens has surpassed expectations countless times since a poorly-equipped band of rebels cast off the yoke of English colonial rule. George Washington and the soldiers who survived Valley Forge began a tradition of heroism that has persisted through the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War. That legacy continues today on battlefields in Afghanistan. When called, Americans respond courageously and commit their all to protect their country and its freedoms. After they return home, U.S. veterans often create another tradition of service as business, political and community leaders. Young citizens who grew up on farms or in cities, armed with college degrees and grade-school diplomas, rich and poor alike, have come together over and over to produce the military might that won our independence, preserved our union, defeated first the Kaiser and then Hitler and liberated Kuwait. Every Nov. 11, we remind our readers that all Americans owe our veterans who have served in the military a debt we can never repay. We say this because it's true. And part of what veterans' sacrifices have bought for us is the right we exercised Tuesday. Our veterans paid the price to keep our elections free. Thanks to them, each of us in Jackson County could choose to vote for Erskine Bowles, Elizabeth Dole, Sam Neill, Charles Taylor, Phil Haire, Kaye Matthews, Bob Carpenter, Dan Robinson, Joe Cowan, Linda Belcher, Eddie Madden, Arnold Nicholson, Brian McMahan, Dodie Blaschik, Jimmy Ashe or Curtis Lambert. As happens in every election, some of our candidates triumped while others went down to defeat. But through the wisdom of our forefathers who conceived our democratic process and the courage and sacrifice of veterans who have fought many times to preserve our country and its freedoms, we are all winners. God bless America. And thanks to all who have fought to defend her freedom.
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