I have decided to abandon my common condemnation of all entities
governmental and focus on some very positive items that have yet to
be tackled by our newspaper.
Namely, in a time where worldly popular opinion and moral
ambiguity rule, there are those with enough guts and forethought
who will ultimately go down in history as saviors of the free
world.
The list of those whose morals and minds have done more to help
mankind than many winners of the Nobel Peace Prize (Yasser Arafat
for one example) includes George Washington, Abraham Lincoln,
Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and soon to be added President
George W. Bush and Tony Blair. All these men rose up above the
tyranny of the majority, refused to let their morals be usurped by
the misguided opposition, and brought with them redemption and
freedom.
First and foremost George Washington and the other Founding
Fathers were part of a small minority that carefully manipulated
public opinion through Alexander Hamilton’s newspaper and
John Adam’s army of street rats, ultimately bringing about a
war that would forge the greatest document in mankind’s
history, the Constitution of the United States.
Subsequently, the two-thirds of the colonists who did not mind
idly standing by as the Crown stole their rights were freed from
tyranny.
The great document was not complete however, so the founders
left room for it to be amended. So 15 presidents later and after
another great and bloody war, the document came closer to the aims
of the fathers.
On Sept. 22, 1862 Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, giving slave owners three months to free their
slaves. And once again, a man overcame a large and violent
opposition to bring liberty to a large group of people.
Three-quarters of a century later a new tyrannical evil rose to
power due to the blind eyes of the world and appeasement policies
of the impotent Neville Chamberlain. Thanks to a vote of
confidence, Winston Churchill replaced the ousted Chamberlain and
led a campaign against Adolph Hitler. Enlisting the help of
Franklin D. Roosevelt and other countries, war was again used as a
means to defeat the evil that grew from a contemptible
majority.
Almost immediately following the World War II, another form of
oppressive tyranny rose, capturing a large portion of the world
under the iron curtain of communism and the U.S.S.R. After a number
of ineffectual campaigns, the problem only continued to grow and
more people were enslaved and killed by the communist
dictators.
But then out of Hollywood came the lone cowboy, Ronald Reagan.
He was called a warmonger by the left that abhorrently believed
that communism was no better or worse than capitalism, just
different. He refused to negotiate with the evil empire, even when
they threatened to leave the nuclear arms talks table. Lastly he
fought the pacifistic attempt to freeze the nuclear weapons that
ensured the victory of the United States over evil once again.
And now we have Tony Blair and President Bush, two rebels who
once again must fight a majority that would rather appease due to
the belief of moral equivalence. Blair has stood against the
popular opinion of England and may pay for it if he loses the
confidence of Parliament. He has refused to follow the wimpy
tactics of Chamberlain and will therefore go down in history as a
protector among the likes of Churchill.
Blair’s leadership and integrity are responsible for the
European coalition consisting of Denmark, Italy, Czech Republic,
Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary and later Slovakia that openly
support the United States as is evidenced by their recent
proclamation: “The real bond between the U.S. and Europe is
the values we share: democracy, individual freedom, human rights
and the rule of law.” And Bush has constantly reiterated to
the morally bankrupt U.N. and American left the necessity of
ousting Saddam Hussein, despite their rhetorical cries of
“war for oil.”
War is hell, and a uniquely horrible experience for all
involved. But when great men such as those on this list have made
the call to arms in face of great disagreement by a lazy or
pacifistic majority, large segments of mankind are set free, and
history views these men as the heroes that they are.
Schwartz is a fourth-year psychology student. E-mail him your
comments at jschwartz@media.ucla.edu.