| .I recently received a
communication from Mathew dated November 1st, 2007. Mathew writes....
Hi Andy,
I don't know if you remember me, but you
helped make me a famous guy for about two months before the 2004
election. I wrote a column titled "Election determines fate of nation"
supporting President Bush and the Iraq War. You were one of the first
bloggers to pick up the story and I eventually ended up doing media
interviews all over the country.
Well, I have written a book about the
experience, what it is like to be a conservative academic, and my
thoughts on public policy. First, I wanted to let you know about it. I
have attached a PDF of the front and back cover. Second, I thought your
readers might want to know about it since they were part of what
happened.
Either way, keep up all the good work you
do.
Thanks,
Dr. Mathew Manweller
Here is the front and back cover of Mathew's
book. Check it out and get your copy...
Visit Mathew's Website
for more in-depth articles and essays. Mathew has an excellent grasp
and perspective of the political scene. Check out his new book, "The Right
Opinion: A Heretic's Voice from the Ivory Tower", as well as "The
People Versus the Courts", now available on Amazon.com
From the Wed 06 Oct 2004 issue of
the Ellensburg
Daily Record (Ellensburg, Washington)... written by
Mathew Manweller... Central Washington University
political science professor...
"Election determines fate of nation"
"In that this will be my last column before the presidential
election, there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee.
The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high. This November we
will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly
matter.
Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an
election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat,
abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a
nation that is aware of it’s past and accepts the daunting obligation
its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo
through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of
frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the
message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold.
First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a
nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon
the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the
Middle East is too big of a task for us.
But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as
voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring
caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized
other civilizations.
The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future
presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions.
America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history
regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that
legacy, we turn away from who we are. Second, we inform every
terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was
well learned. In Somalia we showed don't need to defeat America on
the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom.
They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America.
Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the
heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq
is Somalia times 10.
The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every
cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of
American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly
photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American
people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there.
Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration
without setting foot on the homeland.
It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest
generation'. It will become known as America's 'last generation.' Born
in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WW
II, they may be the last American generation that understands the
meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to
admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by
many (but not all) in my generation.
Too many citizens today mistake 'living in America' as 'being an
American.' But America has always been more of an idea than a place.
When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a
set of values and responsibilities. This November, my generation,
which has been absent too long, must grasp the obligation that comes
with being an American, or fade
into the oblivion they may deserve.
I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the
election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our
century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as
the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they
will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of
the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the
City on the Hill."
Mathew Manweller
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