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Jan. 21, 2007 A recent FOX News public opinion poll provides strong evidence of what many of us have known to be true for some time; yet it is still a rather depressing and sobering truth. It is more than obvious that the Democrat party has set itself up to gain from any failure in Iraq; this goes a long way towards explaining the lack of intelligent input provided by the left side of the aisle in Washington, D.C.. Why else would so many Democrat leaders reverse their position on a troop buildup in Iraq so soon after they publicly supported it? It is clear that Democrat politicians have much to gain by President Bush's failures--be they real or just perceived. What was not so clear, prior to the FOX poll, was that a significant percentage of Democrat voters apparently feel they too have more to gain from failure in Iraq than from success in that operation. The FOX poll asked respondents, "Do you personally want the Iraq plan President Bush announced last week to succeed?" In total, 63% of the American public, based upon this survey, indeed want the president's plan to work. At least it is reassuring that the majority of the population of our nation realizes the importance of success in Iraq to the future of U.S. as well as the world's security. What is startling, however, is the number of respondents who actually want the plan to fail. Roughly 11% of Republican respondents and 34% of Democrat voters who answered this poll want the president's plan to fail. These people would rather see defeat in Iraq, with the accompanying casualties of our soldiers, than to see a Bush plan succeed. An additional 15% of Democrats answered "don't know," which means a total of 49% of Democrat respondents either want failure or are unsure what they want. The Bush-hatred runs so deep that U.S. citizens would prefer to see our soldiers taking a loss overseas than to see success and a free Iraq government emerge. Apparently, these citizens believe that life would be better off for their children if Iraq falls to a regime that is intolerant of the western way of life. The results of this poll are disheartening on the surface, but what is worse is the ultimate impact this must have on our military personnel. Soldiers who are putting their lives on the line on a daily basis overseas will get little comfort in knowing that such a significant percentage of their fellow citizens either want them to fail or aren't sure they want success. It is surely difficult enough fighting a cowardly enemy which hides among women and children and concentrates attacks on civilian targets. How can this country expect success when so many want failure? There is likely a bigger factor at play here than simple Bush hatred, which has existed since he was elected, well before we had boots on the ground in Iraq. The results of this poll, I fear, has just as much to do with a population which does not understand what is at stake and has not the time nor the patience for it. A war which was largely supported at the onset, even after no significant stock of contraband weapons were found, is now unpopular because it's just too difficult and has taken too long. We've become a nation which wants a democracy established in Iraq in about the same time as your average "youtube" video. We're a bunch of front-runners, who are all for an effort when everything looks to be going well, but are ready to turn tail if the enemy actually makes it difficult. We have to win a war not just against an armed enemy, but against our own insulated indifference. Perhaps all of us have had it too easy for too long and believe that everything we have in this country is an inherent right. We want "no blood for oil" but whine when the gasoline price jumps up a nickel a gallon. The definition of "roughing it" in this nation has become having to drive more than three blocks to the nearest Starbucks. We would rather concentrate on improving our golf games than think about the cost of freedom, and how lucky we are to have brave soldiers who are willing to pay it. Those who believe there is nothing to gain through victory in Iraq are the very ones with the most to lose. ------------ About the author: Ed Abraham is a concerned citizen living in flyover country, U.S.A., who happens to be truly disgusted by the loss of common sense in our society and is doing all he can to try to reinstall it. Email: eabra@myway.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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