Your Monday Assignment Being Right on Iraq and Hollywood Endings

Officially, it's Monday morning and I hope I'm not too late getting this idea out to people. The world of the right or should I say "the sane, freedom loving people of America", have come up with an idea to show our solidarity with the Iraqi people. Of course, I already suggested it on Sunday, but some folks have decided we should make it a national idea. I'm for it.

On Monday, find a blue ink pad or blue marker or blue pen (or purple: Indian ink turns purple and then black eventually, take your pick) and color your right index finger (not the whole thing, just up to the first knuckle). This has two parts actually: solidarity with the Iraqi people and giving terrorist the finger. Of course, if you feel the need to paint a different finger blue, I'll understand.

I said I would post some pictures from the elections. I collected a ton of them, but I found someone who had it all put together. I present to you Iraq Elections set to the music of "The Common Man". You need a good speaker for this and some tissues.

Now some closing thoughts as I head off to bed and contemplate the exciting last 28 hours.

I'm sure if I wasn't so tired I would write something brilliant about freedom triumphing again. I would quote some brilliant past thinkers on the subject. Instead, I'll talk about how I felt as I stayed up watching the video of the polls. I know at one point, when the polls first opened up and the voters were slow to trickle in, I was holding my breath some. I'm not afraid to admit it. I've been behind this thing for a long time and have said so. I wanted this moment for the Iraqis like a mother wants to see their child take their first steps, say their first words, ride their first bike, or walk across a stage with their diploma in hand.

I have hardly done a thing here besides some supporting comments to our friendly Iraqi and military blogs, maybe a few dollars donated to one cause or the other and, of course, my vote for the President which I felt was necessary to keep our efforts going in Iraq. I know that I have seen history in the making throughout my life. I saw the first space shuttle go up in my science class, live. I saw the space shuttle Columbia blow up a few years later, live on television in my American history class. I heard Gorbechav declare Glasnost and even have a "glasnost" swatch watch in my jewelry box. I saw the Berlin wall come down. I remember rushing home to watch the start of the first Gulf War on TV and all the little wars in between. I remember the first WTC explosion and I saw 9/11, again, live on TV. I heard the President give his impromptu speech on the smoldering ruins of the WTC and watched the Taliban go down. I saw the Afghanistan people vote for their first free government. I watched "shock and awe" on my TV. I stayed awake for days with little sleep as I watched our military march to downtown Baghdad and tear the statue of Saddam, so like Stalin, down in the square as jubilant Iraqis danced and beat it with their shoes.

I know I have witnessed so many historic moments in my life time, just like my parents and my grandparents before me. But, Saturday night (Sunday morning in Iraq), I watched people vote in a true, free elections in their country for the first time in many of the people's lives. I stayed up all night to watch it because, just like September 11, 2001, October 16, 2001 and April 9, 2003, I knew I was watching history.

I was sad on September 11. I felt satisfaction on October 16, 2001. I felt the excitement on April 9, 2003. On Sunday, January 30, 2005, I felt something more. I felt like I had something invested in this election. I felt just like the way I felt about November 2, 2004. This election meant something. It meant more than just being on the "right" of our political divide these days. It meant being RIGHT, being with the RIGHT. It meant being RIGHTEOUS. Not politically, but ideologically and historically.

Seriously, can there be anything more RIGHT than wanting people to have the same freedom that we have? Is there anything more RIGHT than supporting people against the remnants of a tyrannical regime and putting the RIGHT index finger into the eye of the terrorists and tyrants everywhere? Is there anything more RIGHT than telling the OBLs and Zarqawis of this world that they are wrong, people do not want their fascist ideology, and we are RIGHT about people wanting freedom?

I'm not sure I could have felt any more RIGHT with myself except maybe if I had been there, walked with these people myself and cast my own vote.

By Sunday 2 AM, I had let out the breath I had been holding and a wild pounding was in my chest. I saw thousands of people lining up at the polling stations in Iraq, walking for miles, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends, sometimes whole families. The picture that struck me the most was the image of hundreds of people walking together down a long road towards the polling station some where in Iraq. There was a man in front of the group, not exactly alone or leading, but in front. He has on a brown outfit. His black hair was slightly mussed and a slight beard and mustache. He could have been as young as 26 or as old as 40, but, in the picture, he was striding down the road with the others close behind. Striding, not sidling or hesitant in any manner and he was staring at the camera. The look seemed to be one of defiance. Behind him was a crowd of people, so dense you could not really count how many were there, but you knew that "hundreds" might be a light estimate.

The picture could have been straight out of a Hollywood movie where the good guy finally convinces the town's people to stand with him against the gang of bad guys that have been terrorizing the town, shooting it up, molesting the women and forcing the men to either work for them or turn over all their money and valuables. But, it wasn't a Hollywood movie. Not even they could have scripted that moment so well. Not Braveheart nor the Post Man nor the Patriot. Not High Noon nor High Plains Drifter. No, Hollywood could never have matched that moment.

In the picture from Iraq, the bad guys were off camera, but I could picture the looks on their faces. It's the same look that bad men have always had when confronted with the will and force of the good who finally stand up to them. First, they laugh and think that these good people will never have the guts to stand up to them. Then, it's anger because they can't believe that the good people just keep coming. Finally, it's shock when they realize that their days are numbered and they will be lucky to make it to jail before they are lynched or gunned down in the streets like the dogs that they are.

Today, the bad guys were shocked nearly speechless. I think it is only a short period of time before they beg the sheriff to take them to jail so they won't end up lynched on the streets.

The only sad thing about these movies is that there is always some guy, like the mayor of the town or the store owner who thinks they should just appease the bad guys until they leave town. Not because they have faith that the bad guys will change their minds, but because they are cowards or have some property or something invested some where that they are afraid will get damaged and they are willing to sacrifice their fellow citizens to protect that property or investment or their own skin.

On Sunday, these cowards were out in force. I saw them on TV telling people that this didn't mean anything (Sen. Cowardly Kerry). I heard them on the radio saying that these people will not succeed, but are being led to their doom. I read it on many left leaning and DEMOCRAT blogs and news sources saying it was a farce, a sham and that "this democracy is bullshit". Bullshit? Democracy is bullshit? They were claiming that millions of people were duped and that the elections were rigged and that the administration had already picked the people that would win. Which was physically impossible when they were voting for 111 parties and 7200 candidates to fill 275 seats of an assembly. This pretty much tells you people are not in touch with reality. Yet, there they were, like fans for the villains of the piece, booing and hissing when the GOOD GUYS came on the screen.

Why would they do this? Just like the ambivalent mayor or shopkeep in the old movies who are always more worried about saving their own skins or protecting their own property above the safety of their fellow citizens, these people have decided that their position, their investment in their political party, their standing was more important than supporting their fellow citizens of the world against the bad guys. They would prefer to sell them for 30 pieces of silver so long as they continued in their places of power or in control of a few meters of political realestate. They showed their true colors and it was YELLOW through and through.

Kennedy (better known as Baghdad Blob) still insists that it is a quagmire and that we should abandon the Iraqi people as quickly as possible in order for what? To go back to status quo? Stand back and watch them be annihilated under the new boot of tyranny in town? For some fake idea of "stability"? If this position is the position that is supposed to put us back in the good graces of the international community, these folks can take that standing and shove it up their asses. Please.

I'm saying that as politely as I can.

The problem with Kennedy and Kerry and people like them is that they apparently never watched the Hollywood movies to the end. If they did, they would know what happens to that little snitch, little suck up to the bad guys, the yellow dog that sold his friends and fellows for a moment of peace or a piece of the moment.

Do you know what happens to those people? You guessed it. In the end, the bad guys usually kill them first for being worthless, untrustworthy and not delivering on their undeliverable promise of delivering up the town, it's treasures and it's people.

You see, even the bad guys have some standards and they don't tolerate these folks either.

Can we, who stand with the GOOD GUYS, do any less?

It's time to stop tolerating these people.

My message to the Drunken Mayor of Stupidity and the Keeper of the Insane Left Leaning Saloon:

It's that time in the movies where the GOOD GUYS are strolling down main street on their way to confront the BAD GUYS. Every citizen can no longer avoid what has come. It is time to choose sides. There is no straddling the fence anymore. You can't support the GOOD GUYS, but say you don't believe what they are doing is RIGHT when the confrontation is already under way. If you hide behind your doors and wait for the fight to be over, the winner of the fight will remember you. If it's the BAD GUYS, they'll just see you as the coward you are and kick you around even more. If it's the GOOD GUYS, you'll be ostracized and you might as well pack your bags and move out of town because you won't be getting anymore business from them.

That's if you are lucky and don't end up with the Hollywood ending that usually awaits your type.

What am I saying? It's already too late for you. Never mind. John, Ted, Kos, DU, Susan Estrich, Juan Cole, Jaque Chirac, et al, close your eyes, I don't think you want to see what happens next.

You know what has to be the worst aspect of being that fence sitting, back stabbing character in the movies? When it's all over, the GOOD GUYS have won, the BAD GUYS are dead and the credits are rolling, your character is simply defined as "Drunken Mayor Of Stupidity", "Saloon Keeper", "Muck Raker", "Town Drunks", "Saloon Girl", "Man With No Hat" and "Horse Thief". What's more, no one remembers your name.

I love Hollywood endings.