Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: A better tomorrow

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 7:18 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

WEEKEND EDITION

October 23 - 24, 2004

Am I my brother's keeper?

I thought since this presidential election has degenerated into a "whose religious faith is better" type of contest, that it would be appropriate for me to inject that wee bit of religious overtone of my own.

After all, if the Catholic Church, for example, can condone members of its hierarchy who are challenging Sen. John Kerry's faith based on his political beliefs, then what else is sacred in a country in which matters of religious choice are supposed to be personal and not subject to the give and take of election-year politics? Besides, isn't it true that a large number of Catholics agree with Kerry about his pro-choice position? Does that put them in the excommunication bull's-eye?

I am only asking the questions because, frankly, there is no way I want to get into the middle of any argument that involves someone else's religious beliefs. I have my own problems in my much smaller faith group. I don't know if our issues are as significant as the Catholic quandary relative to this pro-choice thing, but I do know they would never be so bad that our leadership would purposely separate one from another for some political advantage. (You know, this is one of those times that I really miss Mike O'Callaghan's wise counsel. He often saved me from writing something I might regret).

So, back to this brother's keeper thing. Last Tuesday, John Kerry's brother came to Las Vegas to meet with a significant number of people, many of them Jewish, who had questions about Senator Kerry that had not been satisfactorily answered in the debates, and had only been muddled by the non-stop advertising barrage that has put Las Vegas under siege and will continue to do so until Election Day.

You see, President George W. Bush is being portrayed as a great friend of Israel and the only person on Earth who can fight the terrorists where they live and breathe. It is a brilliant political move -- always has been -- to scare the heck out of people and cause them to vote out of fear. Fear of terrorism, fear of economic demise, fear of health care concerns unattended or fear of changing anything while we are under the threat of attack. Both sides do it and both sides are wrong.

We should be voting for a hope that there will be better tomorrows. A hope, to be sure, that is tempered by the reality on the ground, but the kind of hope nonetheless that has always made this country the envy of the world. In the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, we have always pulled through. Why? Because we are a country filled with the dreams of a better future. Period.

Now, we are faced with an election in a few days that promises nothing but aggravation and the reality of more lawyers than voters going to the polls. And whose fault is that? It is ours, my friends. We have allowed our election process to be hijacked by those on all sides who fear the loss of power that comes with a shortage of votes when all are counted.

Power and money are great motivators, and if I can hazard a guess, the Republicans are far better at this game than the Democrats. Probably because they know how to use the power and make the money better than their counterparts.

But, I digress. What I wanted to talk about is the breath of fresh air that is Cam Kerry, a man who actually came prepared with intelligent, sometimes long-winded answers that made people listen, think and discern. There were no 30-second sound bites, no talking points from which he would not stray and no handlers waiting in the wings to stop the questioning if it got too tough. In fact, I think it was the kind of discussion that our Founding Fathers had in mind when they first conceived of our democratic republic, which is supposed to be a government of, by and for the people.

The whole time I was listening, I was lamenting the fact that all of Las Vegas could not be there for questions and answers. But then I realized that all of Las Vegas wouldn't be there because many people just aren't that interested. We have become a lazy democracy. We have allowed others to tell us what, how and when to think about these candidates, and we have abdicated in many cases our personal responsibility to fully inform ourselves before we enter the voting booth.

This is not a new phenomenon, it is just a growing and disturbing one. Cam Kerry is Sen. John Kerry's Jewish brother. He converted 21 years ago before he married his wife. He is a close confidant of his brother and he speaks confidently that he knows not only John Kerry's mind but his heart. And he is unambiguous in his belief that there is not a person in this race who is stronger at his core than brother John.

You know, when you listen to Cam, when you look into his eyes and see the passion within them, you know he is telling the truth. You just know that this brother knows what he is talking about. If there was an overarching concern in the minds of the Las Vegans in that room, it was who would best protect the security of the United States and who would best keep the commitment to Israel's existence first made on behalf of this country by President Harry S. Truman.

Cam Kerry said that President Bush might have done a good job at both but he took his eye off the terrorism ball and let it wander toward Iraq, and he neglected the Middle East for the first 18 months of his presidency, setting the stage for a biased United Nations and European Union to step into the peace process that was once the province of the United States.

He also said that his brother, if he were elected president, would be steadfast in his determination to keep Americans safe at home, respected abroad and committed to an Israel intact, strong and at peace with her neighbors.

You know, there was no flinch in Cam Kerry. It was the kind of discussion that made most of the people in that room feel comfortable about one of the key issues in this race -- safety and security -- and the one with which there was the most discomfort. There is no discomfort now.

Is Cam Kerry his brother's keeper? It appears so, because he answered that age-old question and some very difficult new ones as well, thus doing right for his brother.