Addendum

Dennis Prager takes a while to make the point. But it's an essential one. One we need to learn. Fast. (Read it here.)

The American Left and the American Right have irreconcilable differences. We have completely incompatible visions for America.

The Left wants a Socialist one in which the STATE runs our lives; they hate God & Religion.

The Right wants a Individualist one, in which people run their own lives; they trust in God, and embrace the Judeo-Christian values upon which America was founded.

But the MOST important thing Prager says, which comes in the last paragraph of his column, is:

1. They are in a fight to the death.
2. Only one side can win.
3. No compromise is possible.
4. The Left knows it.
5. The Right doesn't.

And it's obvious in this campaign. Obie will do ANYTHING to win. He will use racism, sexism, class warfare; he will cheat, steal, lie, defraud, betray friends and family, and corrupt the system. He will scorch the earth. For the Left, winning is everything. It is the only thing. NOTHING. ELSE. MATTERS.

McCain thinks he can find "common ground" with Democrats. He insists on running a "gentlemanly" campaign and making the worst of Obie "off limits"! For the Right, truth matters, integrity matters, honor matters. And sometimes that trumps victory.

But sometimes in order to save what's good in the world, you have to employ that which is not. Think, Batman, the Dark Knight breaking the law in order to save Gotham from the barbarians.

Think of it this way. We consider intolerance a bad thing. But it is necessary to be intolerant of intolerance to defeat intolerance. If you tolerate intolerance, intolerance wins.

Nasty Catch 22.

But it's a conundrum that grownups have to face. Life isn't always simple.

Senator McCain is one kind of hero. But not the right kind for this bloody battle for total supremacy in which the enemy—the barbarians— take no prisoners, and seek to cleanse the earth of their enemies.

This isn't paintball—or a video game we can reset later. This is a fight to the death. If we don't "get" that, we're finished.

The first thing we need is clarity. We need to see the situation for what it is. Then we need to get serious. We have to be the hard, deadly, merciless leaders we need. Because there is no one else.

"Dance like no one is watching.
Love like you'll never be hurt.
Sing like no one is listening
And live like it's heaven on earth."

Gunslinger's addendum: "Fight like they're trying to kill you."

The Gunslinger