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Essays, Opinion, & Commentary |
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September 16, 2001
by David A. Yeagley, Ph.D.
The morning of September 11, 2001, America was attacked on our homeland. Our most prestigious business complex, the New York City World Trade Center was destroyed. The center of our military command in Washington, DC, the Pentagon, was bombed. Tens of thousands of people may have been killed. Our own commercial airplanes were hijacked by suicide terrorists and used as missiles, crashing into our cities. Hours later, President Bush responded on national television: "Make no mistake: the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts." What an utterly disappointing remark! This is not what the American people want to hear. We want to hear "War!" We've heard "bring the perpetrators to justice" before, too many times. This isn't a legal matter, to be settled in our wonderful American courts with scintillating litigation protracted over the next decade. We want war. Now! We've been attacked! Thousands of our innocent American people have been slaughtered. President Bush couldn't say the word "war." It would have been politically incorrect. It would have offended the Left, the feminists, the minorities, and Amnesty International. In his next speech (8:30 p.m. Sept. 11) he mentioned winning the "war against terrorism." But that doesn't cut it, either. Word wars on ideas gain nothing when people are dead in the street. Terrorism is conducted by real people, real organizations, and countries. Declare war on them! But political correctness has emasculated our language. Our political rhetoric can no longer accommodate the grammar of actual war, and the resolve necessary for real victory. We daren't declare war on a person, agency, or country. Our leaders would rather see us slaughtered. That's the way of the Left. Let someone else take the hit, while the lofty Left preserves its rhetorical righteousness, and prepares to file suit so the enemy gets a fair, elongated trial. This enemy within has made America totally and unnecessarily vulnerable. In my first FrontPage piece, entitled "Warriors & Weapons," I said whoever takes my weapons from me is my enemy. That article was about guns. But words are weapons, too. Our language has been disarmed. Key vocabulary is missing. We've been robbed of the most critical element of our national defense: the ability to declare war. War itself has been declared "wrong." So we're crippled. Washington can't take action. In a time of war, our enervated government speaks only the language of litigation, as if it's afraid of being sued for declaring war. Where are the warriors? Since February, I've argued that the warrior images of American Indian mascots and monikers should remain forever in American schools and universities. If there was ever a time warriors were needed, it's now! Government leaders have forgotten what a warrior is, and what a warrior does. Secretary of State Colin Powell said, the morning of the attack, "A terrible, terrible tragedy has befallen my nation." He couldn't muster a stronger response. The second in command of our American military forces, instead of declaring war on the enemy, merely lamented the results of the attack. What weakness! Again, this is not what the American people want to hear. We've heard glorified condemnations before. We're tired of hackneyed adjectives, and effeminate, poetic dramatizations. We're tired of words. We want action. Any country or person harboring a known terrorist must face annihilation. Any person or country purposely contributing to terrorism must face extinction. It's simple. This is what American people want to hear. Well, let them hear it from a Comanche Indian. I declare war. Are there any warriors left in Washington? If so, let them show themselves now. If not, let those in power be forever remembered as people without moral character, without resolve, and without respect. I call upon all Indians everywhere to put our hearts on the warpath. Don't try to remove all Indian warrior mascots from schools and universities. We need warriors! Let Indians be first among the new American patriots! Keep every warrior mascot there is! Make more of them! Educate the country about warrior-hood. Let people know what the great Indian warriors did for their people. If Americans really want to use Indian images on army badges, helicopters, police cars, and sports teams, then let's remind them all what Indians can really be. My red brothers, this could be our greatest moment since we saved the Pilgrims. This is our chance to reclaim our original preeminence in the American social consciousness. We were their host, guide, and savior in the beginning. Let's do it again. Dr. David A. Yeagley teaches humanities at the College of Liberal Studies, University of Oklahoma in the fall of 2001. His opinions are independent. He holds degrees from Yale, Emory, Oberlin, University of Arizona and University of Hartford. He is a member of the Comanche Tribe, Lawton, OK. E-mail him at badeagle2000@yahoo.com. Copyright (c) 2001 by David Yeagley. Published with permission.
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