Nancy Salvato, Senior Editor

True Patriots Put Country First
November 12, 2008

Sometimes, I find it hard to stomach reading the headlines in my preferred publication of choice, the New Media Journal. I just finished an article reporting that Osama Bin Laden is planning on attacking the U.S. again --real soon. It’s hard to believe 7 years have passed since our hijacked planes were flown into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. It almost seems surreal. However, we must remember that the terrorists who would do us harm do not adhere to commonly accepted timetables, do not fight a conventional war, do not distinguish between military or civilians, and are not affiliated with any one country. And any westerner or infidel is considered fair game for their next atrocity.

While some citizens have become complacent, others have been vigilant in monitoring the war on terrorism. Most news reported about the war on terror is picked up by the New Media Journal as a courtesy for the readers who don’t want to see another 9/11 befall our civilization in their lifetime or after. For those who have opted not to take a permanent news holiday by burying their heads in the sand (As Andrew Weil recommends) and instead continue to expose their intestines to ulcers and IBS in order to stay informed and to inform others, it will not come as a surprise if there is an electro magnetic pulse explosion in our immediate hemisphere. Terrorists are capable of pulling off such a feat. Needless to say, they won’t have any remorse over such actions. It is all in a days work.

What’s disturbs me first and foremost about this latest development is that the mainstream news, including the Fox News network which is only concerned about ratings these days (Who’s looking out for you...O’Really?) has not bothered to cover this latest threat. This represents a great disservice to our country because the general population is thwarted from mulling over this latest development – obviously deemed too insignificant to warrant prime time coverage. So, should anybody really be surprised that our society no longer sees terrorism as a significant threat to our welfare? Is it realistic to expect the populace to be concerned if our president-elect soon cuts defense spending?

The Republican Party is justifiably associated with "Country First”. This is because Abraham Lincoln presided over a Civil War to keep our country together. Yet, instead of learning from history, from the Framers who compromised on a moral disagreement in order to draft the US Constitution or from the Federalist and anti-Federalist arguments which resulted in a Bill of Rights, the Republican Party has allowed itself to become hijacked by special interests, by extreme party members who demand that people believe and think as they do. Yes, I’m talking about abortion. There were many Framers who found slavery abhorrent, yet they compromised on their beliefs because they understood that we would never be able to agree on a US Constitution if they didn’t. Sadly, the Republicans put politics over government this past election, placing our country at greater risk than could be imagined. The irony.

I don’t want to hear about Obama’s socialist agenda, his birth certificate, his black liberation theological church, his drug history, or any of the multitudes of extremist views he represents. It no longer matters. Republicans lost the election. What matters now is that Conservatives of all different stripes can find their way to agree that there is only one thing that needs to happen. We need to elect enough Republicans during the midterm elections that we can moderate the extremism that is soon going to be at the helm of our government. We need some people who will continue to fight for our Constitution, for our sovereignty, for our existence as the United States of America.

There can be no litmus tests. The Framers disallowed litmus tests. Our Constitution is there to protect all of our rights and it was designed to prevent majority or minority rule. It is about tolerance for others as long as our own freedoms are tolerated. The Republican Party needs to become strong enough to take back one of the legislative branches during the midterm election.

The Founders and the Framers were patriots. Presidents Washington and Lincoln were Patriots. They are recognized as such because they proved that they cared more about our country than themselves. They made extremely difficult choices in order to put "Country First.” Republicans need to take their heads out of the sand and admit the reality of the situation they find themselves in. This is the first step to being able to heal itself and to putting "Country First.”