01 Nov 2004 Voting Responsibly More Important Than Simply Voting, by Jimmie Lee Hollis

As the election draws near, the talk gets louder about voting – even though much of the talk is about voter registration and not voter education. Without the proper education and perspective, a wily politician can hoodwink the electorate.

Take, for instance, the issue of terrorism.

There is a lot of talk among the candidates about the war on terror and which political philosophy can best fight it. I, however, see the ideologies they want us to vote for and fighting terrorists as two very different things.

It’s resolve, not ideology, that will win the war on terror.

Let me explain it this way. If I were a terrorist, I would make it my mission to know America’s weaknesses. For those vulnerabilities I didn’t know about, I could learn by watching CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN because their “experts” would fill me in. I would know where and how to strike to inflict the most debilitating strategic and emotional-charged attacks.

If I were a terrorist, I would also be quite amused at the fervor, panic, divisiveness, hate and false hopes surrounding so much of the current campaigns. That’s because there are those out there who actually think that by electing a liberal that terrorists will somehow put down their bombs and go away. What people don’t seem to have learned is that terrorists are dedicated to destroying America regardless of who occupies the White House and what policies they introduce.

In the presidential race, I (in my terrorist persona) would let Senator Kerry know that he can’t – and he won’t – defeat or deter me through appeasement, passing meaningless U.N. resolutions or putting my actions up for a global test of their appropriateness. I would see his propensity towards political correctness as a weakness, and I would show him no mercy.

As for President Bush, to his credit, he has caused me some pain. The question is: Can he keep it up? Can he convince Americans to foster a resolve to get “down and dirty” over long periods of time? If not, any victory over terrorism is impossible. Frankly, I don’t think the American people have that sort of resolve right now.

So the fact remains that the terrorists’ agenda does not depend on who is elected in November.

Thank God I’m not a terrorist. But if I – an ordinary citizen – can understand and present such a strategy, surely our enemies have already done so with even more insightful planning aimed at making the maximum impact on our nation’s infrastructure and psyche.

Voting is important, but political pundits and activists should not try to lead people to believe that the agenda of the terrorists hinges simply on the politics of who wins in November. And the voters should not be quick to fall for their claims.

Whoever is elected had better be resolved and ready to take on our enemies with everything we have – politically, economically and militarily. Anything less is suicide.