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“The world has never had a good definition of the word ‘liberty.’ The American people just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty. But in using the same word, we do not all mean the same thing. “What constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling seacoasts — these are not our reliance against tyranny. Our reliance is in the love of liberty, which God has planted in our bosom. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own door. “At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? “Never. “All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, could not, by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer that if it ever reach us, it must spring from amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be the authors and finishers. “As a nation of free men, we must live through our times or die by suicide. Let reverence for the law be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in the schools, in the seminaries and in the colleges; let it be written in primers, in spelling books and almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in courts of justice; and in short, let it become the political religion of the nation. And let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly at its altar. And let us strive to deserve, as far as mortals may, the continued care of Divine Providence, trusting that in future national emergencies, He will not fail to provide us the instruments of safety and security. “Let us not be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government, nor of dungeons to ourselves. “Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”

— Abraham Lincoln

Though these words are from the 1800’s I think they are still very important to remember and can be applied to the events and struggles that we face in today’s world. Though we are a country of diversity and differing opinions we are bound together in unity that we have the ability to express ourselves in many ways but when people reach the point that this freedom of ours causes disharmony and we are split and divided as Americans we can only help but to usher in the seeds of our own destruction. So regardless what side you may fall on of the many different views from the war in Iraq to the issue of when life actually starts to the ecology in our search for natural resources. Remember that we are unified in our own diversity but we should never be so petty as Americans to portray our diversity as our image to those abroad. Be united in our freedom of choice but not divided in our difference of opinion.

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There has been a lot to talk about. Many Catholic blogs, including those I link to, talk about them often. Mark Shea’s Catholic and Enjoying It! has had many ongoing discussions about whether the war in Iraq met the Church’s Just War criteria. A new common topic is about torture, what it is and whether it is permissible.

Here is the latest on that to get a flavor of what’s going on there.

I hesitated to link to the post for a couple of reasons. First, I think Mark has gotten way too snarky since he came back from his book writing hiatus on some things, especially this. I’ve added a comment or two now and then but not being a regular poster, I think it gets lost in the discussion. Second, I don’t necessarily want to drag the animosity over here. It gets nasty there at times.

That’s why I bring this up. I hate to see this sort of thing go happen on blogs I like to read. I certainly understand that there are differing opinions on what is and isn’t torture. Not to mention what is and isn’t a Just War and whether one can disagree with a Pope on a particular case. What I don’t get is the automatic consignment of those who hold differing opinions to the worst possible categories of supporters of evil… torturers or terrorists depending on your point of view.

Anyway, knowing some of the other Maniacs are likely to disagree on this subject for various reasons, I am hoping to generate a more calm discussion over here.

Please note to potential commenters that I will not tolerate any of the name calling and ad hominem attacks that I have seen go on at other blogs. I can and will delete comments that cross a line. If you don’t know for sure if you are crossing the line, you probably are.

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Two words I wish had never been put together to form a cliche’

Exit Strategy. Every time I hear some nitwit use this euphemism for retreat I get annoyed. Exercising or even looking for an “exit strategy” other than victory is leaving a job half done and it dooms tens of thousands more to horrible painful deaths. I suppose some people think this really is all just a big chess game. The striking things about this place, like most of the other third-world places that I have visited are the contrasts. There is garbage everywhere, children missing limbs, huge opulent palaces that used to be occupied by Saddam and his cronies, to name just a few. You can tell the ones that are “better off” immediately by the fact that their clothes are clean. This is going to be an interesting year. One thing is sure: This will take longer than one year before we can even think about “exiting.” It will take as long as it takes.

Now its quite an honor to be associated even in this tangential way with this great guy, but how in the world does my HeathenBoy get linked to this fella?

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