In his book written with Ron Dermer---The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror---Natan Sharansky inserted quotes about how democracy could never work in the USSR.
Some of the quotes came from the speeches and writings of prominent Americans. They are prominent Americans whose professional work you and I, even if of opposite political views, would respect or admire. They got it wrong, so far.
As of 1989, the USSR ceased to exist as it had been and soon broke apart. Former leaders, from the country of Georgia and elsewhere, returned to their new, independent states. In today's Russia and Georgia, for example, democracy continues either to crawl or walk. So far, it is moving forward, however roughly or slowly. We cannot doubt, as some said was true then, that Soviet citizens of the tyrannical Soviet regime understood the value of freedom.
Reader's Digest once printed an article by a U. S. citizen who had visited Russia. It was in the time of the Gulag, the harsh Soviet prison system where trial-less political dissidents suffered deeply along with convincted criminals. A Soviet citizen who knew some English approached him cautiously. He whispered: "You are American, right?"
They were strangers to each other, so the American said, "Yes, but how did you guess?"
The Soviet said: "You walk free."
We take it for granted over-much. That little story reminds that we should value what it means to "walk free." We need to remember that any freedom can be lost if not cared for and guarded.
Part of freedom inwardly is the freedom, which we can claim, to think, decide, and act for ourselves--and take responsibility for it.
We all have heroes of past and present. Nevertheless, they deserve evaluation in the spotlight. They need to have their weaknesses as well as their strengths known, as far as they relate to their positions of influence and power.
The best among them would expect and hope for no less from us.
I admire President Bush, with whom I disagree on a number of decisions, for never demeaning the American people, who have largely rejected and abused him.
He tends to stammer when he talks off the cuff. He has been ridiculed cruelly for that shortcoming. Yet, I have never heard or read of him giving back in return in a disrespectful way.
There is an effort to impeach him from office. I have heard no cruel or disrespectful comment on that, either. On the other hand, he has not lost his feistiness, and I admire him for that, too.
For those reasons, I am proud to commend President Bush's personal qualities and leadership example. His policies regarding Iraq will either be proven right or wrong eventually, maybe within a decade. Maybe longer. Both he and Congress will remain under a microscope 'til then.
Election day for a new president comes in about 100 days. We who vote need to pay attention to the words and demeanor of both candidates, the good and the bad of each. We need to be able to give good reasons for our final answer.
I am looking at who has the best record of fervor for freedom and democracy for this country. Both freedom and democracy are increasingly challenged concepts, even in America, a fact I never thought would be true. Now it is.
I was in Switzerland on 9/11. A few days later, I heard words from an American, passing through Geneva from the States. They were words that shocked, words I never dreamed, even in nightmare, to hear.
There was no sign of sadness or grief over the events of the previous days. There was only criticism of President Bush being elected that previous November.
That event and others like it awoke me to the fact that not all Americans love their country. Many American citizens enjoy material benefits and personal and professional opportunities that exist in abundance in the U. S. They enjoy their political opinions. They take all of that freedom. They "take it and run," as the saying goes.
This attitude exists among some in academia, government service, churches, public schools, and community and state leaders. This attitude is rare in "the American heartland."
The race, gender, background, education, and even the military service of a candidate are not the main criteria for me.
What matters most is who has a clear record of a desire to stand up for this country and for democracy, at home first, and a clear determination to continue to be faithful to them.
The United States of America has always aimed to share freedom's benefits, to help the rest of the world rise to freedom, through deliberate policies, strategies, and ways and in spite of agreement or disagreement between the White House and the Congress.
Power rests upon the citizens of this country, invested in them by the Constitution and effective in total for as long as this democracy stands.
We use that power first by our votes. We also use that power through how we think, speak, and believe for ourselves.
It is that vote, that democratic process, that affirms that we continue to "walk free."
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