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July 4, 2003/Tamuz 4 5763, Vol. 55, No. 45
Who needs political heroes?
BARRY COHEN
Editor
Born in 1968, I grew up with no political heroes. I dimly remember the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon's resignation. In grade school, I recall "Day ___ of the Iran hostage crisis" under Jimmy Carter's administration.
Follow that with eight years of Ronald Reagan's jingoism, when he preached that we could solve our problems if we would just wrap ourselves tightly in the American flag.
With no disrespect to George Bush, Sr., I need to pay special attention to Bill Clinton. I am still angry that I fell under his political charismatic spell.
How many times did he lie to the people who placed him in office, culminating with his affair with Monica Lewinsky? How could he, having sworn to uphold the Constitution, lie under oath?
The Bush-Gore election followed, when the loser failed to carry his home state and the victor prevailed without the popular vote.
How can I view George W. Bush as a hero when, borrowing a punch line, he was born on third and thinks he got a triple?
Under his leadership, I feel little safer now than I did on Sept. 12. Where is the necessary increased funding to protect our harbors, our industrial infrastructure, our bridges, dams and monuments?
I believe that Bush is using success in the War on Terror to pursue a conservative social and economic agenda that more than 50 percent of the voting public do not support. He hopes to weaken the wall between church and state and advocates a Reaganite economic theory that will further strain the middle class and create massive budget deficits.
Yet, I do not decry the fact I have no political heroes.
The United States of America is the greatest political experiment in human history. We are guided by a Constitution that protects the freedom of the individual against the often-oppressive will of the majority.
Though we should always critique a judicial system that is far from perfect, I would not trade it for any other nation's.
With our military and economic power, we are the only nation that can lead the fight against forces advocating terror; but despite our power, we shun expansionist dreams.
And we have the unique capitalist skills to respond to any economic challenge.
Our nation is a mishmash of races, religions and ethnicities that have resisted the urge to become Balkanized; and it is a place where the next generation of immigrants can obtain a better standard of living than the one that came before.
Though hate groups may remain a constant threat, equal vigilance keeps them in check.
And no other Jewish community in more than 2,000 years has been as safe, secure or accepted.
My political hero is the transcendent vision set in place by our nation's founders - "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Our ongoing task and sacred responsibility is to make this vision a reality.
Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.
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