<HTML><BODY STYLE="font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dear Pat,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>In an amazing coincidence, these aren't just *your* views, but also the views (and exact words) of Professor Mathew Manweller, a political science prof at Central Washington University. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Even that rat-eater G. Gordon Liddy had the decency to give the man credit for his words.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Melynda Huskey</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial">----- Original Message -----</DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt Arial; COLOR: black"><B>From:</B> Pat Kraut</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, November 01, 2004 10:15 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>To:</B> vision2020</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>Cc:</B> Mike Cahill; Rich Kraut; Keely Cahill; Grant Lawrence; Rebecca Cahill; Darren Kraut; Amy Kraut; JOLEEN CAHILL; Kerry Cahill</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] My views</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>Today we will vote in an election that truly matters. Because America is at<BR>a once in a generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the<BR>balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence.<BR>Down the other lies a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the<BR>daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the<BR>consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a<BR>spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the<BR>message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold.<BR>First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a<BR>nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon,<BR>we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is<BR>too big a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future<BR>presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges,<BR>preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has<BR>characterized other civilizations. We will tell the world that in other<BR>countries people can be gassed, raped, maimed, put into extreme poverty for<BR>the sake of the leaders 'homes' and we will not care or come to the rescue<BR>in any form. Oh, we might go to the UN and ask them to tell them to stop,<BR>but we won't really do anything to help. We will stay in our comfort and do<BR>nothing. The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future<BR>presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America<BR>has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of<BR>the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from who<BR>we are.<BR>Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson<BR>of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorist that you don't<BR>need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the<BR>newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America.<BR>Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracking polls will do the heavy<BR>lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times<BR>10. The Election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every<BR>cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American<BR>voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos of CNN<BR>is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt<BR>will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any<BR>American administration with out setting foot on the homeland.<BR>It is said that America's WWII generation is its 'greatest generation'. But<BR>my greatest fear is that is will become known as America's 'last generation'<BR>. Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of<BR>WWII, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning<BR>of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these<BR>terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my<BR>generation.<BR>Too many citizens today mistake 'living in American' as 'being an American'<BR>. But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign<BR>on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and<BR>responsibilities.<BR>This November, each generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp<BR>the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the oblivion<BR>they may deserve. I believe that 100 years from now, or even sooner,<BR>historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive<BR>election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as<BR>the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will<BR>describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters, grandsons and<BR>grandaughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers<BR>of the City on the Hill.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long<BR>at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."<BR>Helen Keller<BR><BR><BR>_____________________________________________________<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR> http://www.fsr.net <BR> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML><br clear=all><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : <a href='http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>