Barry (Goldwater) and The Bomb

Colin Powell has purchased partial redemption by crossing party lines to endorse Barack Obama.  His action is particularly timely considering today’s post.

Previously, I opined that McCain and Palin weren’t evil, just not good enough.

Because they support the status quo, and because of the unseemly crew lurking in the background.

With global economic chaos and political polarization not seen since the heyday of the Cold War, we need hope, a new direction, not more of the same.

There is a historical issue of huge significance, and it’s weighing on my mind.  I don’t hear anyone talking about it, and it may be paranoid to even bring it up.  But I think it highlights the absolutely critical need to make the right decision

When Barry Goldwater ran for president, his campaign ran off the rails for a lot of reasons.  But one memorable campaign ad pictured a small child in a field of flowers, followed by the blast of a hydrogen bomb.  See the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyVn9k6d1og

Why am I concerned?

• History repeats itself.  We tend to have somewhat predictable economic cycles.  And those cycles have reverberations in the aftermath.
• About 75 years ago, we sank into the Great Depression, which was followed by a slow and painful recovery.  And then a World War.
• The toys of war in 1939 didn’t include atomic weapons, like those which brought down the curtain on World War II
• The stars are now aligned for a return engagement

The 1930s were a time of incredible challenge.  John Steinbeck chronicled a small slice of it in The Grapes of Wrath, capturing the desperation of people who’d fallen from the bottom to the sub-basement of society.  The world is awash with such people these days.

The 1930s saw the rise of national socialism in Germany, facism in Italy and military adventurism in Japan.  Financial, social and political forces collided and the result was a global war.  One that was ended essentially by the use of atomic weapons.

Today, we’re seeing the resurgence of authoritarian rule and of radical theocracies, promoting values antithetical to those of democracy.

Now, suicide bombers are driving buses into government buildings.

Now, your neighbor could be cooking up a nuke in the basement.  Or the family room.

Has there ever been a clearer indication that the days of militarism other than for defense are over?

We need to extend our power by first recovering it, then recovering the respect with which America was once blessed.  We can only do that through fundamental change.  Then we need to go about the business of winning hearts and minds, not blowing holes in them.  Can you imagine the good the billions we’re flushing down the toilet in Iraq and Afghanistan could do – here and at home?

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are, in my opinion, the best instruments for change on the political stage.  Symbolically, Obama’s election would make history and demonstrate the achievement of a major milestone in our growth as a nation.  Obama’s idealism, Biden’s experience and the players supporting them have solid credentials in every sector of economic, social and political life.  They represent the best choice, the only choice if we want to change history.

At the end of the famous H-Bomb commercial, you heard the voice of Lyndon Johnson:

“These are the stakes – to make a world in which all God’s children can live, or to go into the darkness. We must either love each other, or we must die.”

“Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.”

History repeats itself.  Once again, we have a world on the brink.  And a candidate who once went by the name Barry.  But this time, the theme of that commercial should play in his favor

Vote for Barack Obama on November 4.  Ignore the polls: The stakes are too high to stay home.

And may the Higher Power of your choice present a clear vision for a better future to our leaders and the electorate.  The world is watching.