SERIOUS SPEECH CONTEST
1st PLACE 3-16-12

DIPLOMACY: THE KEY TO AVOIDING THE ALLERGIES OF SPRING

Fellow toastmasters, distinguished guest. There's a reason why President Obama engaged in what some call an "apology tour" thru the Muslim world: there's danger on the horizon! We are at a fork in the road: we must PROCEED... WITH... CAUTION!

Over a decade into the War on Terror and Bin Laden is dead. Most of the top leaders and engineers of the attack have been captured or killed, and Al-Qaeda as an organization with 9/11 capabilities no longer exist. But the same political philosophy remains. Meanwhile, we somehow got involved in nation building while our nation crumbled. But where do we go from here?

The Muslim world is on the move. Freedom blossoms in the spring time in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria. THE WORLD IS CHANGING! If we ever knew who was who over there, we certainly don't know who they are now. And if we are to avoid the danger on the horizon we must begin to judge our adversaries from their standpoint, not from our own. We somehow think that we can microwave democracies in shattered states, and only create the instability we fear. Democracy must be earned and learned, it cannot be decreed from without. Nor is freedom spontaneous or universally understood.

It's all our fault. We have to be honest, we've been sleeping at the wheel. As citizens of a democracy, we have a civic duty to hold those we elect accountable to their representation of us. I have a NEWS FLASH, folks: robotic repetition of "because they hate our freedoms!", does not suffice as an explanation no matter how often it's said. Our greatest danger is to continue believing that Islamists hate and attack us because of what we think, rather than for what we do. Are we to believe that they are so offended by our democracy, that they are willing to wage war against overwhelming odds, just to stop us from voting, speaking freely, or praying or not as we wish? Really?! Denmark has these same freedoms, why aren't they attacking them? They'd be the weaker opponent.

Our freedoms have nothing to do with it. Look no further than Bin Laden's porn collection for confirmation. We're creating this problem: their oil and our lack of serious alternative energy development are at the heart of the issue. Because for cheap, easily accessible oil, we've supported the Muslim tyrannies radical Islamists seek to destroy. The days of supporting dictators who dance to our tune on the backs of their citizens are over! THE WORLD IS CHANGING! What was once hidden in the darkness of state controlled media now goes viral on a daily basis. And we've been so duplicitous because of the resources, and how has that worked out for us? Oil companies receive govt. subsidies, continuously report new record profits, yet there's no relief at the pump. In one of the warmest winters they're forecasting possible five or six dollar gas is coming. And they're blaming it on Iran, but have we forgotten OPEC flexing its muscle in '79? That's what told us we NEEDED an alternative, but if you think that was something, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Iran is engaged in a game of nuclear chicken. They want a nuclear weapon, make no mistake about it. And why wouldn't they? They want to be the power in the Muslim world. And they have the perfect example in North Korea for why they need them. You know, when it comes to North Korea, we may talk that "axis of evil" talk, but talking is all that we'll do. And even when we talk, we're going to watch what we say and how we say it. Besides Saddam and Gaddafi got off the nuclear path and where are they now? It reminds me of what was said in the Old West, "God made man, and Sam Colt made all men equal!" The atomic bomb is the Colt of nations. So what do we do?

Some say it's simple, bomb them! They're a state sponsor of terrorism already. And the Israelis can't allow it to happen, so they'll have to attack at some point. We stand with them, and then what? Do they just accept it? What if they respond?

They share a border with Iraq and Afghanistan and they could attack our troops there. They could simultaneously hit us in Afghanistan while destabilizing Iraq. Iran is 90% Shiite, and Iraq is now controlled by a Shiite majority, many of whom were exiled in Iran when Saddam was in power. They could work in tandem and send an already fragile global economy into a depression. Bahrain is also part of OPEC and is currently controlled by minority Sunnis who treat the Shiites as second class citizens. What if they help their Shiite brothers come to power? The Iranians have options, fellow toastmasters, and at the end of the day, they could always go to old faithful and inflame the entire region.

We stand with Israel, but we must be careful. How long have the sons of Ishmael and Isaac been warring? Are we to also war in perpetuity? Perception encourages behavior. How long can we be seen in Muslim lands, engaged in war with Muslim people, and not be perceived as the Crusaders the jihadists say we are? Do we really want to get caught up in that web? How does a nation founded on separation of church and state win a holy war? Particularly against an adversary who prays that God allows him to die before the battle begins? We don't know how any of it unfolds: Tunisia? Egypt? Libya? Syria? Iraq? Afghanistan? Pakistan who already has nukes? It appears the Palestinians will no longer be quiet. How do we avoid the allergies of spring? BOMB THEM?! Well, wouldn't that only confirm their NEED of a nuclear weapon? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but nuclear nations aren't arbitrarily bombed by anyone, for anything. THE WORLD IS CHANGING! And make no mistake about it: we'll either willingly change with it, or once again, be forever changed by it!