It is the war of the worlds.
As Al Gore is honored with the Nobel Peace
Prize, George Bush and Dick Cheney appear
to be pushing on all levels for a new war, with
Iran. Not a day goes by without some political
or public relations push for an attack on Iran
by a President who has learned nothing from
his tragic mistakes and seems determined to
escalate them.
The profound juxtaposition of the Nobel Prize
being being awarded to Al Gore and the push
for another war by George Bush is powerful
proof of the war of the worlds that will largely
determine the future of America. It is a battle
about:
The vision of America and the world of Al Gore
versus the vision of America and the world of George Bush, Dick Cheney,
and the leading Republican presidential candidates.
In the George Bush vision, oil profiteering
reaches historic highs, oil companies have
secret meetings in the White House, oil power
creates pressures for unwise wars, oil politics
buys influence with those who plan those
wars, and oil pollution threatens nothing less
than the very existence of planet earth.
In the Al Gore vision, the people of the world
are freed from the chains of an oil based
economy, the genius of America is mobilized
for a new deal of new and safe energy sources,
and the earth is protected from the rapacious
greed who those who pillage it for short term
profits, and threaten it for future generations.
In the George Bush vision, America initiates
unwise preemptive wars and allows those who
attacked on September 11, 2001 to escape.
In the Al Gore vision, America does not initiate
wrong and unwise preemptive wars, leaders
should have the clarity and conscience to know
it, and we defeat the real enemy in the right way with a united people
and a shared spirit
of patriotism.
In the George Bush vision, America violates the
wisdom of George Washington and commits
heinous acts of torture that alienate the decent
opinion of the world community.
In the Al Gore vision, America is a beacon of
hope and light, George Washington and our
commanders through the ages were right,
we reject torture and rally the friends of
freedom everywhere to our cause, because
they know and believe it is the right cause.
In the George Bush vision, the king is the law,
the constitution is dispensable, the Bill of Rights
is the petty cash of partisan politics, and we
become spies against each other.
In the Al Gore vision, the law is the king, the
Constitution is a sacred trust, the Bill of Rights
is honored as the timeless statement of our
freedom and democracy that it is, and we
are a nation of fellow citizens who stand side
by side, under the rule of law, for the higher
purpose of true Americanism.
In the George Bush vision, our politics is
polluted by the corruption of money, our
debate is demeaned with the politics of
domestic enemies, and our people are
made to be afraid and asked to turn against
each other.
In the Al Gore vision, our politics is ennobled
with a spirit of public service, our debate is
elevated by great visions and great dreams,
our people are challenged to be strong and
brave and united with each other.
In the Al Gore vision, the Democratic Party is
a party with the clarity to see the truth, the
courage to speak the truth, the honor to put
the truth ahead of political convenience, and
leadership to set great expectations for the
nation and strive boldly to meet them.
It is the war of the worlds.
In one corner is the George Bush world of
oil prices, oil profits, oil money, oil pollution,
and the inevitable pressures for war, distortions
of politics, and dangers to earth that flow from
this axis of oil evil.
In our corner is the Al Gore world that dreams
of a vision to liberate the world from these
dangers and threats, that promotes plans to
accomplish the mission with the same fortitude
that took America to the moon, and that seeks
to inspire people of all kinds, in all nations, to
an American Dream that is the shared dream
and good and decent people around the world.
It is true, that Al Gore has been the conscience
of our politics, and the greatest single voice of
the truest loyal opposition to the wrongs that
have been done in recent years.
It is true, that the world community now honors
Al Gore in ways that will make Americans proud
of what is possible and more confident in the
world we can build together.
It is also true, that the war of the worlds has
only begun, and the great battle for the future
and spirit of America has only just been joined.
The winds of war are blowing again, as those
who pray on the darker impulses of fear are
promoting yet another unwise war, and sadly,
there are signs that the loyal opposition will
need an infusion of steel more courageous
and wise than what was shown in October
of 2002.
And while the winds of war are blowing, a new
Nobel Laureate is born, one of the world's great
leaders is honored by the world, and America
is lifted by the honor bestowed on one of our
own.
To paraphrase what Ted Kennedy said when
he lifted a Democratic National Convention to
its feet, the fight goes on, the cause endures
and the dream shall never die.
For those who believe in this, today is a very
glorious day for America.
It is the war of the worlds and the stakes are
enormous.