A True Counter "Point"

After yesterday’s lengthy close reading of Hyman’s editorial, we turn today to something a bit more concise: a parallel “Point.”

To enjoy it, you should stop by the Newscentral.tv website and read the original. Once again, Hyman gives us a commentary based on the unquestioned but faulty premise that somehow the current war in Iraq has anything to do with the “war on Islamic facism” and 9/11.

There are more straw man arguments (“They seem to believe that if we ignore the evil in the world that it will somehow pass us by”). There are more equations of supporting the president with supporting the troops (“Unfortunately, the widespread support our troops once enjoyed has evaporated”). And there are more ad hominem attacks that equate disagreement with the current war with moral degeneracy (“Those people have dishonored the victims of terror by urging our retreat from the front line on the war against Islamic fascism”).

But you can see for yourself. Below, you’ll see a parallel/parody of Hyman’s comments that I think is far more accurate than the original.



It was five years ago that America received a wake-up call. We were reminded that despite our differences, we can be a truly United States of America. We forgot about impeachment hearings, questionable elections, and tax brackets.

On that September morning, men and women became performed acts of heroism. Those acts of heroism continue as our servicemen and women fight overseas, as the wounded and maimed bravely try to put their shattered lives back together again, and those who have lost loved ones find ways to cope with heartbreak.

Unfortunately, the president squandered the widespread support he had, destroying that sense of unity we shared on 9/12. The president forgot about Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. He lost his resolve. Others in his administration urged us to abandon our allies and start a war that only they wanted to fight. They seemed to believe that it was okay to ignore the evil that was committed on 9/11 and simply use it as a way of selling an unrelated and counterproductive war. The president and his administration have dishonored the victims of terror by urging us to ignore the criminals responsible for these deaths and focus instead on fighting a war that they had wanted long before 9/11.

Fortunately, there are still those who can withstand the charges of “not supporting the toops,” “helping the terrorists,” or being “appeasers” that are used as smears by the pro-war crowd against people they don’t like, even when they are mothers of veterans, or veterans themselves. They understand, just as many military leaders in the Pentagon did in the lead up to the invasion that the civilians in the White House have abandoned the war against the terrorists in order to launch a war of choice against a country that didn’t threaten our security.

It is too late for the president to renew his commitment to be a uniter rather than a divider, as he promised he would during the 2000 campaign. He will leave behind a legacy of a fractured country, broken alliances, global hatred of America, more terrorists, false promises, political vindictiveness, tattered national honor, lost values, and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of pointless deaths.

Thank you for reading.

And that’s The Counterpoint.

Hyman Index: 6.06