Here we must break with many of our conservative colleagues, who have criticized President Obama for his warm welcome of Chinese leader Hu Jintao, including a lavish state dinner in his honor. This is exactly what the President of the United States should be doing. With more than 1.3 billion people and the world’s second largest economy, China is a major player on the world stage. It is a no-brainer that it is in our interests to cultivate and maintain friendly relations with the most populous country in the world.
China has come a long way since President Nixon opened the way for improved relations during his historic visit in 1972. Later, as Envoy to China, George H.W. Bush (Bush 41) nurtured that seed planted by President Nixon, ensuring that it would take root and grow. Now, as our relations continue to flourish, we feel that it is altogether appropriate for the President of the United States to roll out the red carpet and welcome the current leader of The People’s Republic of China.
While we cringe at the embarrassing words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who called the Chinese Premier ‘a dictator’ on the occasion of his visit, we salute the President for choosing a more measured approach as he encouraged the Chinese leader to improve human rights in his country. Now if Mr. Hu is able to teach Mr. Obama something about capitalism, it will have been a fair exchange.
Anyone who has visited China recently and really immersed themselves in the culture and actually taken time to rub elbows with the Chinese people will surely come away feeling reassured. These are among the nicest, most friendly people I have ever met. It is almost touching to see how much they like America and Americans.
We believe that the next step in advancing our relationship should be to repay the money that China has loaned us, since friendships unfettered by money issues are much more likely to endure. In addition, we must continue to keep a wary eye on the military aspirations of the People’s Republic of China, all the while maintaining our close relationship with the Republic of China (Taiwan, ‘the other China’). All of these goals are compatible with Sino-American friendship. We welcome Hu Jintao to the United States and look forward to ever improving relations with the Chinese people.
On the occasion of Martin Luther King Day 2011, we pause to reflect on the meaning of holidays, the importance of having a day to honor African Americans and a new insight into one of Dr. King’s oft quoted phrases. Holidays too often become just a day off from work or school, their significance lost and their purpose forgotten. At one time holidays were an important aspect of our culture and served as a living history lesson for all. We lament the fact that the holidays commemorating two of the greatest leaders of our country, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, are now lost in one generic President’s Day. It is sad to see the loss of the respect that was once accorded these leaders when their special days on February 12 and 22 provided important teaching opportunities in the classroom. Now it would be difficult to find a school in our country that has a picture of either Washington or Lincoln, once fixtures of every classroom, having been replaced by posters of Che Guevara, Harvey Milk and Malcolm X.
Honoring African Americans
That said, we feel that it is altogether appropriate to set aside a day to honor and commemorate the invaluable contributions that African Americans have made to our country since its inception. In their long journey from slavery to the 21st Century, they have been an essential thread in the fabric of our country. It is difficult to imagine a United States of America without the likes of George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, Rosa Parks, Ralph Bunche, Jackie Robinson, Condoleezza Rice, Thomas Sowell, Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Armstrong. Indeed, they and so many others have played a crucial role in What Makes US Great!
“I Have a Dream”
In 1963 when Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the crowds from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. he could not have known how often the words from his “I Have a Dream” speech would be repeated in the coming years. Hidden in that speech was the sentence, “This is no time…to take thetranquilizing drug of gradualism”, which in the context of his address to the crowds that day meant that we could not afford to be seduced into piecemeal reform in the civil rights movement. But I believe he gave us a warning with the prescient words in that phrase, as well as a vision of what would happen to the culture of our country in the next half century.
Chipping Away
Looking back we can see how the gradual chipping away at the standards of our great country has significantly changed who we are. We see it in the step by step, gradual transformation of the moral standards in our country since that time. We have been tranquilized into acceptance, dare I say tolerance, by the small, gradual steps which over time have added up to a sea change. In the 1960s having a child out of wedlock was strictly frowned upon. But gradually we got used to that and then it was ok for men and women to live together before marriage. As time went on, providing birth control pills to 13 year old girls was ok, then teaching kindergarteners that homosexuality is good was ok, until we have arrived at what would have been unthinkable back at the time when our country had moral standards…two homosexual men can…well, you get the idea. We have also seen how the tranquilizing drug of gradualism has chipped away at the Christian foundations of our nation, at the long held belief in hard work and self-sufficiency and at the concept of American exceptionalism, to name just a few ways it has changed who we are.
Never Too Late
It may almost seem like it’s too late, but I say we should heed that warning of long ago and be all the more vigilant in monitoring the damaging effects that the tranquilizing drug of gradualism can have on our culture. Conservatives are often rebuked by those under its influence for opposing small, incremental changes that may seem insignificant at the time. But we know how one small change leads to another and then another until a citizenry lulled into complacency suddenly wakes up to a nightmare. There are some encouraging signs that we are kicking the habit of this dangerous drug and reclaiming the principles that have made our country great. We are especially pleased to see the rising number of conservative African Americans who will be a crucial part of this movement back to our roots.
There is so much that could be said in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy that occurred last week in Tucson, Arizona. We could comment on the missed opportunities to stop a deranged madman by a sheriff who was more interested in his own political agenda…a sheriff who attempted to deflect attention from his own shortcomings by blaming the entire conservative movement for the actions of one individual. Never mind that the assassin was a psychotic killer who paid more attention to the communist manifesto than to the news media!
We could comment on the inappropriate political atmosphere at the memorial service, which paid little more than lip service to the victims of this egregious (see WOW) crime. Expecting a somber tribute to those who were brutally murdered, a tribute in the manner of President Reagan’s memorial service for the 248 servicemen who lost their lives in the Newfoundland airplane crash in 1985, the American people were instead treated to what amounted to a college pep rally.
Or we could comment on the occurrence of yet another violent public incident during the short watch of the Obama Administration. Perhaps the increasing frequency of such occurrences should not be surprising when we have a Department of Justice which is more interested in targeting the Ten Commandments than corralling criminals. The real story here, however, is the absurd reaction to this incident by the liberals in America and that above all else is worthy of comment.
The Absurd Response of the Liberals
For the strident left wing liberals in our country to say that conservatives are responsible for the lack of civility in our political discourse today is a little like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. But that is just what they tried to do in blaming the Tucson massacre on Tea Party Patriots, Republicans, Talk Show Hosts and you and I personally, pulling back only after they were stung by the tremendous backlash of an outraged citizenry. It was just too much for most Americans when liberals began the blame game within hours of the incident, attempting to make political hay from the deaths of innocent people.
Are these the same liberals who elected an unknown community organizer (read that ‘rabble rouser’) to the presidency? Are these they same liberals who readily accept the support of the unions across America, known for their confrontation tactics? Anyone who has sat across the table from a steward of one of our increasingly militant unions has definitely been on the receiving end of harsh rhetoric. Clearly, union stewards are specifically trained to be intimidating bullies. And what about the angry mob of union shop nurses that recently camped outside the private home of California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman! Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned Obama stalwarts like the irreverent Reverend Jeremiah Wright and terrorist Bill Ayres!
Contrast these folks with those participating in the Tea Party rallies, which can draw tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life. The world has witnessed how these gatherings focus on the positive in America, proceed without incident and then leave no trace in their wake. Yes, the left wing liberals need only look inward to find the source of the violent rhetoric in this country. As has been said many times, the difference between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives disagree with liberals but liberals hate conservatives.
A Tribute to the Victims
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of the victims of this senseless tragedy. We pray for a fast and full recovery of those wounded in the attack, including U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords. We decry the tragic loss of human life and pray that the following individuals may rest in peace:
When Richard Nixon was born in Yorba Linda on January 9, 1913 in the small home which his father built, the area was still a small California farming community outside of Los Angeles. Enduring the many hardships of his childhood and early life, Nixon became the embodiment of the American Dream and earned his place as a charter member of the Greatest Generation. Over time, Nixon would weather the ups and downs of his tumultuous life and in the end he would become the quintessential survivor. Nixon worked hard to get through Whittier College and won a scholarship to study law at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Nixon enlisted in the military and served his country as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Stationed on the remote island of Bougainville in the South Pacific, Nixon would have plenty of time to think about what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. In 1940 he married his college sweetheart, Thelma (Pat) Ryan, cementing a relationship based on love and teamwork that would last a lifetime. Dick and Pat had two beautiful daughters, Tricia and Julie, and together they would one day grace the White House as the First Family.
In what could be described as a meteoric rise to power, Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946, the U.S. Senate in 1950 and as Vice President of the United States in 1952. The bumpy ride during these rigorous campaigns makes fascinating reading and set the tone for the rest of Nixon’s political career. Early in his public life, Nixon stood out as a staunch anti-communist, garnering significant attention from the press through his investigative involvement in episodes such as the Alger Hiss case. Although he gets little credit, Nixon laid the groundwork for the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, the liberation of Eastern Europe and the ‘capitalization’ of the Peoples Republic of China, all of which would come to fruition after his presidency. Unlike most vice presidents, Nixon played a significant role as Dwight Eisenhower’s second in command and it was almost a given that he would be the Republican Party’s choice in the 1960 Presidential election. In the end, the country chose a young, attractive, albeit inexperienced John Kennedy rather than the pragmatic, tested statesman, but only by a razor thin margin. Nixon graciously conceded despite the many questions raised about voting irregularities, rather than put the country through the uncertainty of a recount. A 1962 run for the Governorship of California also ended in defeat.
The Presidency
After a six year hiatus from the public arena, Nixon was back in 1968. In the interim he had polished his resume and broadened his international credentials, all the while practicing law in New York. Republicans basked in the glory of his stunning victory over Hubert Humphrey that year, but by the time the Nixons moved into the White House in 1969 the country was already in turmoil. Anti-war sentiment was being fomented by left-wingers who owned the college campuses and the fire was further stoked by the media at a time when there was no cable television to counter their liberal bias. If that wasn’t enough, the President had to deal with a radically left wing House and Senate. Against these odds, it is amazing that the Nixon Presidency accomplished so much and had an impact in so many areas, including the environment, the War on Drugs, civil rights, education and the Space Program, to name a few. It is interesting to speculate how different things would have been if President Nixon had been able to finish his second term. His 1971 War on Cancer initiative comes to mind.
Nixon’s landslide re-election in 1972, winning 49 of 50 states, was just too much for his detractors. When a handful of ruffians broke into Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in 1972, the liberals seized on this amateurish prank as a way to neutralize him. A series of gaffs early in the investigation and his betrayal by several key advisors eventually put the presidency in a tailspin. For the next two years the liberal news commentators on all three networks pounded him night after night, eventually influencing public opinion, until President Nixon graciously stepped down on August 8, 1974 to spare the country further division. At that time, President Nixon still had millions of committed supporters, many of whom wept as they watched his resignation speech on television. It was indeed a sad day for the country and a sad day for the world. A few months after President Nixon’s departure, the communists, who had been on the verge of defeat, declared victory in Vietnam, unleashing the killing fields that cost millions their lives. The resignation was a particularly bitter pill to swallow for those who knew President Nixon well, not just because we knew he did not deserve this, but because we knew that he was not a quitter. But President Nixon had much more work to do.
The Legacy
President Nixon will be remembered by most for the historic trip he made to Communist China to meet with Mao Zedong in 1972, opening the world’s most populous country to the rest of the world. To this day, Nixon is revered in China and other countries across the globe for his efforts to bring peace to the world. President Nixon wrote a total of ten books, all well received and widely read. Most were written after his presidency and serve as a foreign policy blueprint for future statesmen to follow. In 1994, he established the Nixon Center in Washington, D.C., an institution which now makes significant contributions to shaping U.S. foreign policy. The Center publishes The National Interest, a journal dedicated to international affairs and diplomacy.
In 1990, he dedicated the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, featuring the home where he was born, the presidential limousine and helicopter, and a reproduction of the Oval Office, not to mention an unprecedented archive of presidential papers and other historic documents. The Library hosts numerous events featuring world class speakers and public figures and is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, Presidential Library in the country. Both President and Mrs. Nixon are buried in simple graves on the grounds of the library, in keeping with their humble beginnings and the manner in which they conducted their lives. On the occasion of President Nixon’s 98th birthday, we are proud to honor him and thankful for one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. Richard Nixon is truly a great American and an inspiration to all.
