In the past three decades alone we have endured a succession of attacks of which 9/11 and Paris are merely the most notable. We have videos of beheadings and any unbiased observer can testify to the unceasing attacks in Israel. We have to quit kidding ourselves that it will all somehow go away if we pretend it is just “occasional violence,” or that it will go away if we ignore it, or if we’ll confess that we aren’t perfect and they’re simply correcting us.
One aspect that we should wake up to is that the jihadists are doing serious damage to their faith. … Muslims in America should, at the very least, vigorously denounce this as heresy and campaign as Americans for the ideals of freedom and human rights that are the foundation of this country. …
Until we accept the fact that there are a lot of people in the world who are actively trying to destroy us, it will be hard to develop a strategy to fight an entirely new kind of war. We need to understand ourselves as well as the enemy. What do we believe in? What has made this country so attractive to many in the world who yearn for freedom and opportunity for themselves and their families? Why is the word “exceptionalism” frowned upon by many in today’s intelligentsia?
It will take a new kind of military strategy as well as a kind of world public relations campaign to win minds and hearts now polluted with jihadist poisons. It will be hard, demanding work for a country that would prefer to get excited about sports rather than battles. It will take leadership by men and women who understand the responsibility that rests with a world power which stands for the ideals that are the “secret ingredient” of western civilization.
It isn't easy to wake up to all this, but the only alternative is surrender. — WILLIAM H. WILD, OAKWOOD
Speak up
Is there any question that the schools that are being looked at for academic performance are the schools where poverty runs rampant through the lives of kids? To resolve this problem we need to invest heavily both in fighting poverty and in overcoming its effects in the classroom, not by beating up on the schools and teachers.
If President Obama is so intent on helping the middle class, why are they far worse off than when he became president six years ago? Stopping the deficit spending in Washington is what will help the middle class.
For the joint session of Congress to have Netanyahu speak before them is a lack of respect for the office of the president and the President Obama and is a serious breach of protocol.
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