Right Here Waiting for You

Last week was Jr. Prom week here at the High School and I was asked to give a “Heritage Speech” on our Roman Lancer Mascot. The theme of Prom 2006 was “Right Here Waiting for You”. As I considered the lessons to be learned from this song title it occurred to me that wonderful things in life are waiting for those who will pay the price of excellence. This is not only true in personal accomplishments, but applies directly to the struggle between freedom and terror our nation is facing in today’s world. The speech ran like this:

“Our Lancer Heritage reveals that each Lancer has a wonderful future “Right Here Waiting for You”. The potential for good, for greatness, and success can be found in our legends. Great things often have humble beginnings; it is the mastery of potential that produces excellence.

Rome began as a single boy; one facing troubles and challenges. There was a day when the unwanted baby Romulus, who had been abandoned to die, was Rome. Romulus and his twin brother were conceived by rape, his mother, imprisoned for un-chastity, could not protect him when murderous thugs took him to drown in the flooding river. He was saved from death by a she wolf who nursed the twins until they were discovered and raised in poverty by a swineherd and a prostitute. Romulus grew up tending pigs. He was forced to educate himself. Gangs of bullies and criminals infested the hills around his home. He lived in a land without law.

But as Plutarch explains of Romulus, [in his] very infancy, the size and beauty of his body intimated his natural superiority; and when [he] grew up both [he and Remus] proved fair and manly, attempting all enterprises that seemed hazardous, and showing in them courage altogether undaunted. Romulus seemed rather to act by counsel, and to show the sagacity of a statesman, and in all his dealings with their neighbors, whether relating to feeding of flocks or to hunting, Romulus gave the idea of being born rather to rule than to obey. To their comrades and inferiors they were therefore dear; . . . [Romulus] used honest pastimes and liberal studies, not esteeming sloth and idleness honest and liberal, but rather such exercises as hunting and running, repelling robbers, taking of thieves, and delivering the wronged and oppressed from injury. For doing such things [he] became famous.

It was Romulus’ courage that restores his grandfather to the throne of the city of Alba. When he became a man, Romulus took his many friends and established the city called after his name. He created Rome, not just as walls and buildings, but as a people and a government based on respect for law; a haven for all who value justice and peace.

Romulus was the first Lancer, he built himself and his city to greatness in spite of the challenges of his youth; he overcame his limitations by realizing that success and greatness are just waiting for those who will pay the price of excellence.

Let’s all remember the struggles and triumphs of the first Lancer, of Romulus, whose example of excellence out of hardship reminds us all that what we want most in life is “Right Here Waiting for You”.”


There are always those who are looking for the easy way out. Right now for the Democrats the easy way out is to Bush bash while presenting no plans or policies of their own. The world neighborhood is full of brigands and we have an entire political movement which is hanging its hopes on America’s wanting to take the easy way out. As the life of Romulus demonstrates, the easy way out is death.

Romulus took on the evil doers around the Tiber Hills. His courage made many enemies among those who profited from brute force, and their angry plots nearly ended his life. His willingness to do the difficult thing laid the foundation for 1200 years of Rome, for the civilization that still guides the world today.

The world neighborhood of today is full of evil doers. There are those who council caution; who promise, as Kipling said that – “if we give up our weapons, the wars of the tribes will cease.” But Kipling finishes this stanza in “The Gods of the Copybook Headings” with – “And when we disarmed they took us and led us bound to our foe, and the Gods of the copybook headings said, ‘stick to the devil you know’.”

Saddam was one of the world’s greatest evil doers (he is the devil we know). His removal has dynamically changed the out look in the Middle East. It takes no imagination at all to recognize the nightmare that would be Iraq dominated by Saddam. Romulus was “made famous” by his defeat of the neighborhood thugs. The American people have given their support to President Bush’s courageous removal of the monster Saddam from our world, “The American public was certainly entitled to make up its mind whether or not Bush had made a mistake and to fire him if it felt that he had done so. The electorate chose not to do so, implicitly accepting either the administration’s rationale for invading or the irrelevance of the discussion to the matter at hand.” (Frederick Kagan, American Enterprise Institute, Myths of the Current War; thanks Reach!) The American People have been wise enough to recognize the need to do the difficult thing now so that the bright future waiting for the world can be crafted.

Many challenges lie ahead. There are those who would “cut and run.” The bullies have found support in the likes of John Murtha (D-Pa), who pretend that turning Iraq over to
al Qaeda would be in America’s interest.


A group of brigands is trying to create a base for world-wide terror in Iraq. Some would blame the current insurgency on US led liberation of Iraq. This is like blaming the anger of the brigands defeated by Romulus on the boy hero himself. But this is not true in either case. I further quote from Kagan’s article: “In 2005, a number of insurgent groups decided to prioritize attacking collaborators and members of the Iraqi Security Forces over hitting coalition troops. Insurgent literature regularly distinguishes between civilians, who are not to be targeted, and traitors or collaborators who are legitimate targets. This differentiation and refocusing of targets priorities clearly showed that the presence of coalition forces is by no mans the only – or even the main – catalyst driving the insurgency.”


Romulus’ enemies tried to regain the hold of terror that the twins had broken. Too weak and cowardly to face Romulus in battle, they turned to tricks and lies. President Bush’s enemies must rely on falsehood to weaken his successes. One of the most incredulous lies is that the War in Iraq is a distraction to the War on Terror. Kagan presents some excellent explanation of the flaw in this argument:

“This question, however, is no longer relevant to the problem of determining U.S. strategy in the war on terror. Al Qaeda’s second-in-command? Ayman al-Zawahiri, has repeatedly said that he now sees Iraq as the central front in the struggle with the West.[11] Zarqawi has linked his ideological program with that of Zawahiri and bin Laden to make plain that he has no intention of stopping with success in Iraq, should he attain it. Above all, the key question is: will chaos in Iraq help or hinder al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in their struggle with the United States and the West? The answer is, of course, that it will help them.” (ibid)

“The real issue about the popularity of American forces is the degree to which their presence fuels the fighting or contains sectarian conflict. As we have already seen, the evidence that the U.S. presence is the key driving force in the insurgency is thin, and the evidence that that presence is an essential precondition for avoiding civil war is strong. Iraqi attitudes about that presence only really matter if they change this calculation in some important way. These attitudes are therefore worth monitoring, but should not be allowed to drive coalition strategy by themselves.” (ibid)

If the President’s enemies have their way all the gains of his Romulen efforts will be lost and the monsters will seize back the gains of our heroes. This cannot be allowed. More from Kagan:

“. . . those who argue for an immediate (or rapid) withdrawal of American forces to ?refocus? those on the war on terror have the burden of showing that such a withdrawal will not lead to the sort of chaos in which terrorist organizations thrive. There can be no question of the inability now and for some time of the Iraqi government to control its territory fully. Nor is there any question of the resources potentially available to terrorists in Iraq--as they were not readily available in impoverished and war-torn Afghanistan. Those resources include not only money and weapons, but access to military specialists, technology, and scientists who had been working on Addams WMD programs. This is a recipe for catastrophe on a greater scale than September 11, and there is every reason to believe that a premature withdrawal of American forces would precipitate such a catastrophe. Whatever the relevance of Iraq in the war on terror in 2003, it is a critical front in that war today.” (ibid)

The people of Iraq want to grab the chance for freedom. Kagan further argues:

“. . . hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have volunteered for the most dangerous duty in their land, fighting insurgents with inadequate training and equipment. Those volunteers have frequently come under attack at recruiting stations and in their barracks, yet their numbers have not flagged. Iraqi units no longer shirk combat or run from battle. They have fought toe-to-toe with insurgents on many occasions, have been badly bloodied, and have returned for duty the next day. Iraqi government officials have persevered despite improvised explosive devices (IEDs), mortar and rocket attacks, kidnappings, and assassination attempts. It is difficult to see how it might be necessary to ?incentivize? people fighting bravely in the face of greater danger to themselves and their families than Americans have faced since the Civil War.” (ibid)

The example of Romulus and the reason and evidence presented by Kagan are further supported by a Washington Post op-ed by Ibramim Al-Fafari, the Prime Minister of Iraq. (Not the “former”, or “want to be” Prime Minister, but the one actually chosen by democratic process by the Iraqi people.)

“My vision for Iraq Includes Overcoming Many Major Challenges” (March 26, 06)

The elections last December in Iraq were a monumental stage in my country’s history and a testament to the courage of its people, who refuse to bow to any dictator or terrorist. . . the war against the terrorists cannot be won by military means alone. It is paramount that all Iraqis work together to build a democratic, free Iraq. . . The other major challenge my government will face is reviving Iraq’s economy. Iraq has been drowned by decades of Baathist socialist policies that have made millions reliant on government handouts. We must encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise, while establishing adequate safety nets for the less privileged. . the reality of a democratic, liberal, peaceful Iraq – a beacon for freedom in the Middle East This is not merely a wish but an article of faith. Having lived in London for the majority of my years in exile, I appreciate the importance of liberty for both guaranteeing democracy and ensuring human development.”

Romulus was not discouraged by the attacks of murderers or by the challenges of founding Rome; and Rome was not built in a day. We must recognize and deal with those who attack the march of freedom in the world today.

The idea that one can gain excellence without struggle, that we can overcome evil without sacrifice is so foolish that no one can honestly claim to believe it. The idea is antithetical to the self-evident and absolute laws of nature that we were born knowing. Therefore I am forced to conclude that those who call for it are motivated by other factors, those who support it are either deceived or deceivers. The good people of the world must put aside their fears, reject the lies, and follow Romulus to the great things that are “Right Here Waiting for You”.