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Editorial

Dry _ones

Stabenow's Edge

M

ichigan voters next
month have an inter-
esting choice in the
U.S. Senate race. Both incum-
bent Democrat Debbie Stabenow
of Lansing and Republican
challenger Mike Bouchard of
Birmingham are good, honest
politicians with solid records
of service to the people of
Michigan. So, rule out character
as a decision maker.
In terms of experience,
the nod would have to go to
Stabenow over Bouchard. Even
if you give them equal credit
for their years in the state leg-
islature, Stabenow's six years as
a U.S. senator — dealing with
national and international issues
— give her an edge over her
worthy opponent.
Party affiliation? Should we
vote for Stabenow just because
she is a Democrat? Or for
Bouchard just because he is a
Republican? Or against them for
the same reasons?
Michigan has a long history
of electing strong, indepen-
dent-minded people — like
Carl Levin and Bill Milliken.

These names, from both sides
of the aisle, still make us proud
because the individuals aren't
afraid to joust with their own
party or political pressures when
they feel it necessary to go it
alone. Yes, they have the courage
of their convictions.
Is that true of Stabenow? Or
Bouchard? Debbie Stabenow's
record on several issues would
allow her to claim inclusion. In
the latest, she split with Levin by
supporting the Mexican border
security fence act. Some might
say that shows her indepen-
dence. Others might say she was
just trying to soften Republican
arrows prior to this tough cam-
paign. But she at least has a
record in this area; something
her challenger cannot claim.
As far as the issues go, both
Stabenow and Bouchard gave
honest, no-nonsense answers to
the Jewish News questions in
our Oct. 12 issue. Both staunchly
backed Israel. Both gave no
comfort to terrorists or their
supporters.
Stabenow now must parley
her Senate floor experience and

step up to the plate during
a second term to deliver
more in terms of bills co-
sponsored and passed that
help move America forward.
The second term can be a
launching pad to greatness
or a time to crash and burn.
For us, a vote in this
Senate race turns on domes-
tic issues — abortion,
school prayer and tuition
vouchers, immigration
reform, stem-cell research,
Michigan's economy — and
experience. On those issues,
we think Debbie Stabenow
will best represent Michigan
and the nation.
We hope that Bouchard
stays active in Michigan
electoral politics because he
adds value to anything he
chooses to become involved
in.

LEBANON

THIS TIME
WERE ALLOWED
TO SHOOT!

❑

E-mail letters of no more than

150 words to:

letters@thejewishnews.com .

www.drybonesbiog.com

Reality Check

Armistice Day

A

movie set during World
War I, Flyboys, opened
this summer and did
not do much at the box office.
That is hardly surprising. It
was the first film made about
that conflict in many years. To
a moviegoing generation that is
a bit hazy on exactly who was
bombing whom at Pearl Harbor,
the First World War is as distant
as King Arthur's England.
The fact that this month's
Veterans' Day observance was
originally called Armistice Day
and was designated to commem-
orate the end of this war, on Nov.
11, 1918, is also a bit murky.
I have just finished a book
about the Battle of the Somme,
the attempted British break-
through against the German lines
in the summer of 1916. During
the five months of this battle and
the nearby struggle at Verdun,

nearly 1 million men were killed
— British Commonwealth,
German and French. Five died
every minute.
When the United States got
into it, early in 1918, we lost
about 126,000 dead in just
seven months of combat. Seven
months!
There is no wonder why people
wanted to celebrate the Armistice
forever. The slaughter was
unimaginable, especially when
compared to what is considered
intolerable by today's standards.
Casualties were mostly limited
to soldiers, though, and eclipsed
by even greater horrors visited
upon civilians in World War II.
Still, the first war was more than
a mere prelude to the second. It
created the conditions that made
the second inevitable.
A civilization destroyed itself
on these battlefields. Centuries

old dynasties toppled.
The greatest evils
of the 20th cen-
tury — Nazism and.
Communism — filled
the power vacuum.
Even now, there is no
rational explanation for
why it happened.
German expansion-
ism. Rising nationalism
in the Balkans. A series
of diplomatic miscalculations.
Secret treaties that could not be
enforced. Armies eager to try out
their new weapons systems.
It was the first war to use
tanks, bombs dropped from
aircraft, poison gas. Iraq was
formed out of this war and so
was the promise given that led to
the creation of Israel.
What struck me most, however,
about The Somme: Heroism
and Horror in the First World

War, by Martin
. Gilbert, were his
descriptions of who
died there. They
were among the
British elite. The
prime minister's son
was killed. So were
sports heroes and
poets, the sons of
rich men and uni-
versity professors.
No one was spared. All were fed
into the meat grinder.
Alan Seeger, the American
poet who fought with the British,
wrote "I Have a Rendezvous
with Death" before this battle. I
remember reciting it in middle
school, not clearly understanding
what it meant. But Seeger did not
fail.that rendezvous.
Members of one British bat-
talion went into battle kicking a
soccer ball in front of them. One

Canadian officer and tunesmith
prepared for the ordeal by writ-
ing the ever popular, "Keep Your
Head Down, Fritzie Boy."
What a waste, and how it
changed the course of history
through the destruction of a
generation of potential leaders of
Europe.
A future British prime minis-
ter, Harold Macmillan, fought at
the Somme and wrote that the
worst part of the experience was
being alone. Because that's when
fear overtook you and men cried.
Not every war is senseless.
Some must be fought and others
are fought poorly for the right
reasons. But this was insanity,
and it changed the world we
live in today more than 90 years
ago. Ci

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor614@aol.com.

November 2 *2006

35

