American Gutcheck: Standing Up For Freedom
“Dissident President” by Natan Sharansky
There are two distinct marks of a dissident. First, dissidents are fired by ideas and stay true to them no matter the consequences. Second, they generally believe that betraying those ideas would constitute the greatest of moral failures. Give up, they say to themselves, and evil will triumph. Stand firm, and they can give hope to others and help change the world.
Political leaders make the rarest of dissidents. In a democracy, a leader’s lifeline is the electorate’s pulse. Failure to be in tune with public sentiment can cripple any administration and undermine any political agenda. Moreover, democratic leaders, for whom compromise is critical to effective governance, hardly ever see any issue in Manichaean terms. In their world, nearly everything is colored in shades of gray.
That is why President George W. Bush is such an exception. He is a man fired by a deep belief in the universal appeal of freedom, its transformative power, and its critical connection to international peace and stability. Even the fiercest critics of these ideas would surely admit that Mr. Bush has championed them both before and after his re-election, both when he was riding high in the polls and now that his popularity has plummeted, when criticism has come from longstanding opponents and from erstwhile supporters.
With a dogged determination that any dissident can appreciate, Mr. Bush, faced with overwhelming opposition, stands his ideological ground, motivated in large measure by what appears to be a refusal to countenance moral failure.
I myself have not been uncritical of Mr. Bush. Like my teacher, Andrei Sakharov, I agree with the president that promoting democracy is critical for international security. But I believe that too much focus has been placed on holding quick elections, while too little attention has been paid to help build free societies by protecting those freedoms–of conscience, speech, press, religion, etc.–that lie at democracy’s core.
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I also believe that not enough effort has been made to turn the policy of promoting democracy into a bipartisan effort. The enemies of freedom must know that the commitment of the world’s lone superpower to help expand freedom beyond its borders will not depend on the results of the next election.
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Today, we are in the midst of a great struggle between the forces of terror and the forces of freedom. The greatest weapon that the free world possesses in this struggle is the awesome power of its ideas.
The Bush Doctrine, based on a recognition of the dangers posed by non-democratic regimes and on committing the United States to support the advance of democracy, offers hope to many dissident voices struggling to bring democracy to their own countries. The democratic earthquake it has helped unleash, even with all the dangers its tremors entail, offers the promise of a more peaceful world.
While the mainstream media and the Democratic Party denounce President Bush at every turn, I stand by the president’s policies in combating terrorism. In today’s world of 30 second sound bites and liberal left dissent, it is refreshing to hear President Bush never once give up on freedom and liberty as a catalyst to solve major problems in the Middle East. He has never wavered from his convictions because of changes in the political winds or deafening party dissent.
Though I don’t always agree with the president when it comes to domestic policy, I have always agreed with him in the War on Terror. First, we must kill or capture the terrorist enemy before the enemy has a chance to land on U.S. soil. I support Bush’s national defense strategy of preemption in dealing with the terrorist crisis before us. I agree with the president that the best defense is a great offense. And I agree with the president we must stay the course in Iraq and Afghanistan until the job is done. Truth be told, if American national security is not protected, no other issues will matter.
President Bush, unlike many obstructionist, Democratic Party leaders who flip-flop on every major issue, has continued to lead and remain steady through two wars, several natural disasters, economic recession, and patriotic heartache. Americans must stand by President Bush in his plan to win the peace in the Middle East and protect America by promoting liberty and freedom abroad.
