And Then Ike said: LET'S GO!

by Irene Daniel

Tomorrow marks the 70th anniversary of the Allied Forces' D-Day invasion of occupied Europe at Normandy. Tuesday was Primary Election Day here in California. These two dates mark separate events, yet for me, are inseparable facets of the same United States of America.

I love hearing, over and over again, the story of the planning, postponing and on-again, off-again anxiety, of the most historic and successful invasion in modern warfare. Where to land? When to go? What about the weather in the English Channel?

Finally, after a few days in the fog of uncertainty, General Eisenhower had one final meeting with all of his Generals and Commanders. Everybody had their say, and there was, indeed, much to say. After all had spoken, all perspectives acknowledged, and all alternatives and consequences examined, there was a long pause. A room full of powerful men and their egos fell silent.

And then, Ike said, "Let's go."

And the rest, is remarkable history, and certainly a pivotal moment in determining the outcome of WWII. Operation Overlord was a smashing success, and was the beginning of the end of the Third Reich.

I've been thinking about those words, "Let's go." And about Ike and how he led, not only the US, but indeed much of a war-torn Europe and Japan, in rebuilding after victory was won. His post-war Presidency was largely focused upon rebuilding infrastructure, as well as broken alliances and damaged global relationships. And here at home, he presided over a massive extension of our interstate highway system, as well as furthering and promoting our National Park system.

How sad, I think, he would be to see the manner in which we Americans are now tearing down everything he worked so hard to create in post WWII America. A state-of-the-art infrastructure that was the envy of the world, is now so dilapidated that it is killing people. And yet, Congress fiddles away an opportunity to put people to work and build something worthy of our greatness. Where's that "Let's go" attitude of one of our greatest leaders and generals? We need it in our leaders. Today.

On Tuesday, voter turn-out was predictably low, in spite of the fact that there are very important issues facing us; and elections all over this country were bought and sold like cattle at auction. Where's that "Let's go" attitude, that is essential to sustaining our Republic? We need it in our voters. Now.

D-Day didn't just happen. It wasn't pre-ordained by a daddy god so that we could all enjoy cheap and unnecessary trinkets made in China. It was planned and agonized over by seasoned, global military leaders, and trained for by our soldiers and sailors. It took great knowledge and tremendous insight; not to mention extraordinary courage and commitment to this plan, to bring it all about. A lot of things happened before Ike uttered the words, "Let's go!"

And why win a war in defense of liberty if nobody cares enough to vote? The fight then was over living under a dictatorship, or living under a government elected via free and fair elections. We just celebrated Memorial Day with picnics and parades. We have time to barbecue, but not to vote. It seems that we can best honor our veterans by doing what they defended our right to do -- voting.

And then we complain because we don't like whoever is running, or we don't understand why things need to be changed, when we have no one to blame but ourselves. We complain that every candidate is bought and paid for, but refuse to take responsibility when a Supreme Court appointed by somebody that we didn't vote for because we didn't vote at all, makes a decision that affects our daily lives by empowering only the wealthy. We complain and get into fights with our friends on the social media; but we don't vote.

Free and fair elections are not manna from heaven, raining down upon us from a benevolent god. Nor do they materialize out of thin air. It is up to us to suit up and show up and make our voices heard. When Dwight Eisenhower uttered those simple syllables, the stakes could not have been higher. What he was really saying was: Let's go -- save the world!

So maybe we should all be more like Ike.

Let's go -- save our infrastructure!
Let's go -- educate our young!
Let's go -- maintain and enjoy our beloved National Parks!
Let's go -- invest in science and technology!
Let's go -- invest in renewable sources of energy!
Let's go -- ensure that we are, indeed, the land of equality for all!
Let's go -- save the world! Again.

We did it before. We can do it again. We can start by voting. As long as a million votes trumps a million dollars -- and it always will -- then, it's not too late to save our democracy. Again.

Let's go!
                                                                                         Irene Daniel   Copyright 2014   All rights reserved.