Preparing to win

Now comes the time to hunker down and prepare to win this war on terrorism. Government is deep in its preparations and we, too, must be about our task.

The last great war was won because the American people did what they had to do, to enable the government to win. Our victory in this war is also dependent upon our willingness to do what we have to do.

The last great war required people to do without many of the products that make life convenient. Ration books were the norm. Gasoline, sugar, coffee, milk and a host of other items were available only with coupons torn from little books issued by the government. “Victory” gardens sprang up in every vacant lot and in the back yards of mansions and shanties alike. And everyone bought “Savings Stamps,” which, when enough were accumulated, could be exchanged for “War Bonds.”

Blackouts were terrifying, especially for small children: An ominous siren would shatter the night. Parents would rush to the windows and pull down the shades. All the lights would be turned off, except for a small candle, or the glow from the fireplace. Street lights went out. The few cars on the streets stopped. The arch-topped Philco radio would sputter static and news. The distant drone of a Piper Cub engine would make the parents anxious, waiting to hear – hoping not to hear – a thud on the roof top. The Piper Cub would drop a sack of white powder on the roof of any house where light was visible.

Everyone prepared. The men and boys who were able, went to war. Everyone else did what they had to do to support them. America won.

We will win again. We are not likely to have blackouts. We should be able to avoid ration coupons. But there are other responsibilities we must meet.

At the top of the list of our responsibilities is the need to rethink what it means to be an American – and thank God for the privilege. Take a look back across history and marvel at how much better the whole world is because America freed individuals to be whatever their talent, will and energy allowed them to be. America, and the light of freedom it promises to the world, must never be extinguished by any foe. To keep this light burning for us, and the world, we must do whatever it takes to win this war.

High on our list of priorities must be the determination to end our dependency on foreign sources for our energy requirements. We are importing more than half of our energy from the very nations that spawned the terrorist philosophy which has declared war on us. Some of these nations are friendly – at the moment – many are not. It makes no sense to continue to rely on these energy sources when we have abundant supplies within our own borders.

Environmental organizations will scream when we sink oil wells in Alaska, and roll back the “monument” designation of the Escalante coal reserves. Those who object to these prudent measures need to sort out their values. It is a new world. Energy security means energy self-sufficiency.

We can tap our own resources without destroying the environment, and every environmental organization in the country knows it. It is our job as ordinary Americans – and as members of many of these organizations – to realize that our first responsibility is to end our dependency on foreign energy, and the attendant responsibility is to do it with as little impact as possible on the environment. But we must do it.

While Victory Gardens may not be a requirement, a garden of any sort is a good project for young people. Adults need to focus on becoming self-sufficient in our food supplies. Too many people in this generation are concerned only about the inventory at the local supermarket – with little understanding about how the inventory gets on the shelves.

The sad truth is that far too much of the food on our grocery shelves comes from outside the United States. The so-called “free trade” agreements and the World Trade Organization have been a boon for our international neighbors that export their products to America. But they have been a near disaster for our domestic food-production system.

American producers are required to meet strict government regulations imposed by the EPA, USDA, OSHA, FEMA and a host of alphabet-soup agencies – to protect our citizens. These regulations add costs. Producers in Mexico, Argentina and other exporting nations are not required to meet these regulatory standards – nor pay these extra costs. Their products are cheaper when they enter the U.S. American producers are going out of business in every state.

If the United States cannot require exporting nations to impose the same “safety” regulations on food production that are required of American farmers, then perhaps these so-called safety regulations are not as necessary as once thought and should be reduced for American producers. If unregulated food production from exporting nations is acceptable for American consumers, why then should it not be equally acceptable for American food production to be equally unregulated?

We, the people who are preparing for war, should not allow our country to be dependent upon other nations for either energy or food. Our strength as a nation is tied directly to our ability to provide for ourselves.

Finally, our preparation for this war, and for the long-term future of our great country, requires a rethinking of the growing trend to hyphenate Americans. The warm glow of liberty’s torch should melt the barriers that separate nationalities and races. Lady Liberty welcomes “the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” If this common desire for freedom is not more important than ethnicity or nationality, then, perhaps, citizenship in America has not yet been earned.

The hyphen between any race or nationality, and American, is a brick wall that separates the bearer from full participation in the American dream. Those who insist on wearing a hyphen in their name are certainly free to do so but, in so doing, they delay the day when every American is defined by character, rather than by skin color, or whatever precedes the hyphen.

Americans who have come from Arab countries may find this idea difficult to accept, now that all Arab-looking people seem to be under suspicion. Yes, it is wrong to think that all people from Arab countries are, or might be, terrorists – but it is a natural reaction that takes deliberate effort to avoid. Responsible Americans who happen to be from Arab countries are justified in their anger at being held in suspicion because of their appearance.

This anger should not be directed at their neighbors, however. It should be directed at those people who committed the atrocities on September 11, that caused suspicion to fall on all those who share their national origin.

The best, and perhaps the only, way to rid the world of terrorism, is to supplant it with freedom. People who are free to exercise their talent and energy to produce what they need to provide for themselves and their family, have little inclination to blow up buildings in distant countries. The ultimate target, for our war against terrorism, must be the obstacles that prevent people from being free.

In America, we have our work cut out for us. We must be about the task. We must decide to become self-sufficient in our energy and food supplies. We must insist that our government enact those policies necessary to bring about a lasting security. Each of us, within our own hearts and minds, have a lot of rethinking and sorting out to do, as we do our part in preparing for war.