The Real Story on al Qaeda

It is a tragedy to me that this video has less than 200 views.

RCP put it up this morning, I know it’s 20 minutes long, but if we want to see excellence in journalism, then we have to support excellent journalists. Laura Logan is just that:

The story she’s referring to can be found here.

This past summer I picked up a South African missionary and we were talking American politics. I frankly informed him that this year’s election was entirely about domestic policy (this was before the embassy attack). He was devastated.

He got up in front of our students and begged them to care about foreign policy. He begged them because people across the world get the business end of our foreign policy.

We don’t vote for merely an American president or member of Congress. We vote for world leaders. And as much as the hashtag #WeCantAfford4More has been making the rounds, I wonder if it’s a little self-centered.

Yes domestic economics is a big deal to us. But what about the rest of the world? The decisions made in Washington impact all of us. They also impact everyone else. Our country changes the world –for better or for worse. We need to care about that.

I truly believe that being an American citizen means appreciating, respecting and stewarding American influence. As much as is possible, we need to keep our heads above our intramural squabbles and recognize that this isn’t a game.

The policies we support and the talking points we espouse aren’t just about our neighbors being upside down on their mortgages. In countries across the world, it’s about life and death. Real lives being snuffed out by real ideologues.

Please, let’s not make this election about political points. Let’s make it about changing the world –for the better.