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Wednesday, February 04, 2004

WFB flashback

NRO today has a speech William F. Buckley gave at West Point in 1971. What a fine man and a fine speech. What's especially interesting about this one is that it came just two months after a young and ambitious John Kerry testified before a Senate committee against the war in Vietnam. The ever-quotable Buckley:

I shall listen patiently, decades hence, to those who argue that our commitment in Vietnam and our attempt to redeem it were tragically misconceived. I shall not listen to those who say that it was less than the highest tribute to national motivation, to collective idealism, and to international rectitude. I say this with confidence because I have never met an American who takes pleasure from the Vietnam War or who desires to exploit the Vietnamese.

And the ending:

Without organized force, and the threat of the use of it under certain circumstances, there is no freedom, anywhere. Without freedom, there is no true humanity. If America is the monster of John Kerry, burn your commissions tomorrow morning and take others, which will not bind you in the depraved conspiracy you have heard described. If it is otherwise, remember: the freedom John Kerry enjoys, and the freedom I enjoy, are, quite simply, the result of your dedication. Do you wonder that I accepted the opportunity to salute you?

Amen.

posted by Gary at 10:52 | [Permalink] (0) comments

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