Our Voice

    This week, some of our worst fears were realized when, for the first time in a long time, an enemy of the United States detonated a nuclear weapon. The weapon that North Korea set off was small by today’s standards and could not be sent via a missile to the U.S.
    Somehow, this fact is not that comforting.
    Any time a country that has been labeled as “evil” possesses a weapon of mass destruction, we have a legitimate reason for concern. That, according to the New York Times, this country also has a history of selling its weapons systems to other, more nefarious countries and factions should frighten citizen’s of even the most remote and unlikely targets.
    And yes, that means even all of us in little old Milledgeville. 
    You will have to forgive us if we are also not comforted by GCSU’s many pre-World War II fallout shelters.
    So what would be a comfort during this time of obvious peril?
    Perhaps a united front from our leaders would have been a start, but obviously that was too much to ask. As usual, our government has chosen to divide itself down party lines instead of focusing on fixing the problem at hand. This week, democrats have practically climbed over each other in order to get their faces on TV in order to condemn the Bush administration and its handling of the issue.
    Last time we checked, it was the job of our elected officials to find a solution to a national crisis, not use it to their political advantage.      
    Was the war in Iraq a mistake?
    Probably.
    Can we do anything about that now?
    Not really.
    Can the situation in Iraq and the Middle East get worse?
    If North Korea were to supply a terrorist group a nuclear warhead, it could.
    Knowing the fanaticism of our opponents, it almost certainly would.
    What we can do is cope with whatever situation we find ourselves in, and try to deal with it in the best way possible.  Of course, conflicts in political motives, and even in basic morality, can prohibit us from reacting in the best way possible.
    Hot-headed individuals are pushing too hard and too fast, and others are acting too slowly.  This will likely continue until something terrible actually happens.
    After all, America lost Pearl Harbor before it finally entered the second World War.  We had to suffer a direct attack on our nation before the threat of terrorism in the Middle East was addressed.
    What might happen before we tackle an opponent with nukes?  We don’t want to imagine.
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Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 13 2006. Filed under Opinion, Our Voice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry