Published September 17, 2006

Men will perish. But the words they speak and the prose they pen can live forever.

The choices they make and the courage they exhibit can ring throughout history. I salute those who fought and those who died on the battlefields of time in the name of freedom. On this 5th anniversary of 9/11, I salute the men and women who serve today in the fight against radical Islam and its forces of terror.

I honor those whose love for human freedom is displayed courageously through the blood, sweat, and tears of our World Wars.

There are moments when we should look back and understand that time will offer men clarity and understanding not seen in the breath and heat of a moment.

As time rewards the brave men and women who took a stand against Germany and Japan, I believe time will reward the brave men and women who are taking a stand against terrorism.

Today, I ask the gentle reader to look back in time at portions of a radio speech delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt. I have copied it from the pages of a May 28, 1941 Knoxville Journal.

From FDR: “SOME EYES SHUT”

“There is, of course, a small group of sincere, patriotic men and women whose real passion for peace has shut their eyes to the ugly realities of international banditry and to the need to resist it at all costs.

I am sure they are embarrassed by the sinister support they are receiving from the enemies of democracy in our midst—the Bundists, and Fascists, and Communists, and every group devote[d] to bigotry and racial and religious intolerance. It is no mere coincidence that all the arguments put forward by these enemies of democracy—all their attempts to confuse and divide our people and destroy public confidence in our government—all their defeatist forebodings that Britain and democracy are already beaten—all their selfish promises that we can “do business” with Hitler—all of these are but echoes of the words that have been poured out from the Axis’ bureaus of propaganda. Those same words have been used before in other countries—to scare them, to divide them, to soften them up. Invariably, those same words have formed the advance guard of physical attack.

Your government has the right to expect of all citizens that they take loyal part in the common work of our common defense—take loyal part from this moment forward.

I have recently set up the machinery for civilian defense. It will rapidly organize, locality by locality. It will depend on the organized effort of men and women everywhere. All will have responsibilities to fulfill.”

“WORLD IS DIVIDED”

“Today the whole world is divided between human slavery and human freedom—between pagan brutality and the Christian ideal.

We choose human freedom—which is the Christian ideal.

No one of us can waver for a moment in his courage or his faith.

We will not accept a Hitler dominated world. And we will not accept a world, like the postwar world of the 1920’s, in which the seeds of Hitlerism can again be planted and allowed to grow.

We will accept only a world consecrated to freedom of speech and expression—freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—freedom from want—and freedom from terrorism.

Is such a world impossible of attainment?

Magna Carta, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation and every other milestone in human progress—all were ideals which seemed impossible of attainment—yet they were attained.

As a military force, we were weak when we established our independence, but we successfully stood off tyrants, powerful in their day, who are now lost in the dust of history.”