I pray, God save Liberty in the hearts and souls of Americans.

A vital election is coming up and We the People have an important decision to make. Generally, classic libertarian politics plays a deeply important role in how I vote. But in my eyes politics plays a very distant second in this upcoming election.  We have a mess to clean up, and a People to be accountable to; the Iraqi people. 

A pivotal moment that led me to put my life on hold and join the effort in Iraq had nothing to do with my political desires; it had to do with Right and Wrong. No matter what I thought at the time about the then-stated justifications for war, in 2004 the people of Iraq began showing an overwhelming desire to be Free of Saddam. I watched, as a fat and happy truck driver –feeling safe and content in my part of the world-- while Iraqi’s flocked to the polls by January 2005, and I felt embarrassed as they came out of hiding in droves, braving the war-torn streets of towns and cities in defiance of the rampant violence, to vote in numbers that far exceeded our own in recent elections. 

I watched a news report of that historical vote from the comfort of my living room as a young Iraqi lad carried his grandmother to the polls. When I saw their image on TV I leaned forward in my newly-bought over-stuffed LazyBoy chair to hear the grandmother weakly utter that she was so thrilled to have this opportunity to cast a vote against Saddam Hussein before she died. Through an interpreter she expressed how happy she was to live long enough to see this day! As I leaned back in my chair, a tear ran down my cheek. 

About a month or two later I heard a report about a small (American) Army unit up in northern Iraq that chose to not fulfill their fueling mission stating they took a vote and decided their mission was too dangerous. What?!, I thought -- has party wrangling and leftist ideas become so strong here at home that even our soldiers are feeling the pangs of democratic ignorance, putting their own personal safety above the call of duty?  Weeks later, at 49 years old, I was 30 pounds lighter and in a National Guard uniform.

I put my life on hold, greatly upsetting the harmony of my cozy family life, accepted a sizeable drop in pay, and decided it was time for all able-bodied straight thinking Americans to put up or shut up. Due to my previous Marine Corps experience from the 1980’s, and my years of driving a big rig, the Guard immediately sent me to Instructor school. Afterwards I joined a transportation Unit, endured a few months of training in the New Mexico desert, and deployed to Iraq for a year. After returning stateside I stayed on active duty an additional year to assist in instructing deploying troops. In all, I spent over 2 ½ years on active duty in support of this --as it seems to me-- liberation effort. 

Because of all the negative, political rhetoric coming from our Congress, echoed by our Academia and other loudly-covered leftist talking heads, the everyday people of Iraq laid low until late 2004, fearing the eventual wrath of Saddam’s supporters if and when we gave up and pulled out. But since that time, more and more of the Iraqi people have stepped forward and we owe them the promise of our Word.

I knew back in 2003 our timing for the invasion was all wrong; I remember not being convinced that we had justification for such a task. But the facts now are that we caused an upheaval in the lives or the Iraqi people. We eventually gave them cause for Hope and a semblance of freedom. They came around, putting their lives at stake on the Word of America. The least we can do is, fulfill our promise to them. I live by the words of John Quincy Adams, “Duty is ours; result’s are God’s.” We cannot turn the clock back by ignoring the current reality.

Remember the giant plastic shredder Saddam used to viciously intimidate his detractors. Remember the airbus Saddam’s regime bought to assist in training terrorists. Remember the gassing of Kurdish women and children, lying bloated and purple –and dead-- in the streets of northern Iraq. Remember the mass graves of Saddam’s dissidents, made up of men and women who stood up against Saddam in year’s past, accompanied by their children, in dozer-dug massive graves? There are many humanitarian reasons that justify our invasion not related to oil or other economic/political spins.  I remember, and so do the People of Iraq.

Next up to help in the liberation effort, is you. Some say, 'If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.' I say, if you stand for something and don't know why, you never stood at all. Rise above the political fray and see this effort for what it is through the eyes of millions of Iraqis. They are living in the present while we fight at home over the past. Stand up with purpose and be counted. Vote for the only candidate left who believes we have a moral obligation to the people of Iraq; this is a defining moment in our history, and the liberation effort far outweighs our personal political comfort zone. I hope you are able to look into the future and see how we today will be viewed; defeat by quitting is not an option. Quitting will be the greatest “gift” we could possibly give Al Qaeda, and the radicals coming from Iran and Saudi Arabia, by pulling out before Iraq is independently able to muster its own civil forces. Until that time comes, we have a humanitarian mission to complete, imparting the seeds of Liberty upon the hopeful people of Iraq who put their faith, their very lives, on the line because of us.

I am prepared to squint, hold my nose, and place my vote for Senator John McCain. Lord help us all, as we have a duty to do the Right thing.