Americans Need Olympic Mentality
By Debbie Daniel (02/19/04)
I smell blood. I can’t see it, but I definitely smell it. There’s going to be a blood bath in the months ahead.
I listened to Charlie Rangel, Congressman from New York, say repeatedly, “Do not forget Florida.” It has become his mantra. He wants to walk through minority neighborhoods this entire election year and reiterate to all the people, “Do not forget Florida.” He wants people wearing buttons that say, “Do not forget Florida.” It’s his passion!
I’ve been wearing a bracelet since the horror of 2001 that says, “We remember 9/11, United We Stand.” And that’s my passion!
How can two Americans caught up by two different events be so motivated to move forward in two separate directions? Mr. Rangel said over and over, I will never forget what happened in Florida. His “twin towers” fell to the ground on that Election Day 2000 and he refuses to “let it go.” In fact, I would say he’s still quite angry.
My watershed was 9/11, but I’m not angry at Americans; I’m feeling the terror of someone who wants to kill me.
Is there a right or wrong to this madness? Is it healthy to harbor resentment against George Bush because some believe he “stole” the White House from Al Gore in 2000? Isn’t there a constitutional process called the Electoral College, and didn’t Bush win that fair and square?
Mr. Rangel chooses not to forget that day, and has decided it will be the motivating force to galvanize his efforts to remove Mr. Bush from office. Is it passion, or is it hatred? He says it’s passion, but he speaks with hatred.
There’s a war out there and it’s not just in Iraq. We’re facing a battle on the homefront, trying to decide who we are. How can we go forward hanging on to “chads” from the Florida voting booths? How can we go forward while trying to decide who truly merits military recognition? If Hillary were running, we wouldn’t even be discussing military prowess, so is this an issue of convenience for the Kerry camp? It looks like a case of the playground bully (Kerry) boasting how tough he is and how he’s going to beat up the other guy.
And then I hear the childlike defense from Mr. Rangel and other democrats: “Well, he started it. If he hadn’t gotten out of a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier wearing a flight suit, we would have never demanded his military and dental records from the Texas Air National Guard.” Is this a debate concerning who has the best military record or who has cleaner teeth?
I would believe that serving as “Commander-in-Chief” the past four years would trump any ranking officer. And I would also believe that the top brass of ALL the military should be able to wear army fatigues if he so desires.
So, why are we concerned with who started what? It concerns me that our honorable statesmen -- role models for democracy -- are making these charges.
I watched a new movie over the week-end called “Miracle” with Kurt Russell. The movie won’t be a blockbuster, but I found a golden nugget that answered the question of how America can win.
The first few minutes of the movie set the stage for one of the greatest upsets in sports history: the United States' defeat of the vaunted Russian Olympic hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Against all odds, the U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal defeating the heavily-favored Soviets in the semifinals by a score of 4-3 on Mike Eruzione's slop goal in the third period. In the finals, the U.S. team knocked off Finland 4-2 to win gold and earn the moniker "The Miracle on Ice."
At the tryouts, each young star proudly representing his alma mater, and still feeling the rivalry from the other players, announced his name and the school where he played. So began the grueling regimen that would prepare them for the ultimate prize.
The coach put these young men through excruciating workouts; repeating many exercises over and over. Each time he would call a player forward asking the athlete’s name and for whom he played. Each player would respond like a soldier giving his name and the school he was from. The exercise went on and on . . . and on . . . and on, with the coach repeatedly instructing the assistant to blow the whistle to signal another sprint.
Even the assistant coach, with a bewildered look, seemed to question what possible motive the coach could have in mind by ordering these young men to skate as fast as possible to a line drawn on the ice, and then race back. The coach was relentless; the young men were whipped; some were coughing; others gasping for air, and many literally falling to the ground and desperately trying to get back on their feet. It looked as if they were all in a stupor. The whistle to repeat the exercise blew again, and again, and again. Another assistant begged the coach to call it a night, but he would not stop. The custodian shut out the lights, but the coach was oblivious to any distraction.
The boys would again yell out their name, louder than before, and shouting out the name of the team for which they played. Then after an eternal pause, with each athlete looking hard into the coach’s face, and the coach staring them down, expecting yet another blow to the whistle, there was one young man with a tired and weakened voice who broke through the silence saying, Mike Eruzione, The United States of America. And to that the coach said, “Goodnight Gentlemen.”
Whew! The magic words, and oh so simple. They all came together with different pasts, but until they could identify who they truly represented, would they be on their way to a championship. It was at that moment it all changed.
Why can’t we have a defining moment that forces us to recognize who we are: The United States of America? Not Democrats, not Republicans, but Americans.
We did have that moment, but we didn’t embrace it. The Democrats are trying to use Florida as their defining moment, but I would hope that the whole of America would not forget 9/11 as a moment when we came together as a team.
We don’t need an attack to bring us together, but we must work as “Olympians” to have a victory for America.
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