Ralf W. Zimmermann is a former tank battalion commander and decorated Desert Storm veteran. He lives in Colorado Springs, where he writes and speaks on diverse military and international affairs topics.
When trying to describe the state of our union in 2007, the fateful maiden voyage of the H.M.S. Titanic immediately comes to mind. While our Captain is still in denial over how quickly the ship has taken on water, the Congress best resembles the Titanic’s band – merely providing the music for the disastrous voyage. It takes more to save the ship than play a spirited tune.
Our administration has failed the people, especially the American middle class, while Democrats have merely provided noisy criticism without profound solutions. Even their army of new presidential candidates for 2008 cannot yet convince me that they’ll be able to get us out of our economic decline and out of the total Iraq mess.
Despite the desperate situation we find ourselves in, there remains hope that our faithful ship can be saved. Right before the most recent elections, I sensed that America’s extreme political polarization was on the threshold of being overtaken by new spirit of political activism. The activism is triggered by a middle class and younger Americans, fed-up with being lectured and suppressed by political elitists and those in the pockets corporations and lobbyists. One of the most profound characteristics of the middle class rebellion is that it won’t only be directed at Republicans who have squandered endless opportunities to make a positive difference, but also against Democrats who readily jumped on the Iraq bandwagon and now claim to be sorry to have been so na
