Ron Silver & 9/11 Republicans

With the passing of Ron Silver over the weekend America lost one of its most eloquent advocates.

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Who could have imagined the co-founder of the Hollywood liberal Creative Coalition and a one time supporter of Bill Bradley’s bid for the White House would have addressed the Republican National Convention on behalf of George W. Bush? I’m sure no one was more surprised than Silver. But there he was on August 30, 2004 addressing GOP delegates at New York City’s Madison Square Garden:

Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them but they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly. Under the unwavering leadership of President Bush, the cause of freedom and democracy is being advanced by the courageous men and women serving in our Armed Services. The President is doing exactly the right thing. That is why we need this President at this time!

That speech effectively ended Ron Silver’s acting career. But it went a long way in helping President Bush get re-elected and ensuring the War on Terror wasn’t compromised. Or as Silver put it to The New York Times, “If we don’t get this right all the other things don’t matter worth a hill of beans. I’ll live to fight another day on health care, environmental concerns and sensible gun legislation.” ( Washington Post) Silver’s contribution to President Bush’s re-election cannot be underestimated. Yes, it was but one speech amongst many in a long campaign. But Ron Silver was not the only liberal who was simultaneously alienated by left-wing indifference to the events of September 11, 2001 but surprisingly impressed with President Bush’s spirited response to them. President Bush gained a constituency that would have not otherwise considered him. Ron Silver referred to himself as a “9/11 Republican” (I include myself in that constituency.) Silver’s speech at the RNC sent a message to other “9/11 Republicans” that we were not alone in standing up for America. But 9/11 Republicans are sure feeling lonely now. President Obama cannot bring himself to refer to Islamic terrorists as enemy combatants. Pretty soon he will no longer consider them our enemies. Couple that with a Democratic Congress that sees America as a problem in the world and not a solution. It is an America that is unwilling to defend itself and not just militarily. If America has a President and a Congress unwilling to defend our values and virtues at home then why would any of us want to stand up for it? If America has a President and a Congress unwilling to defend our values and virtues abroad then why wouldn’t Islamic fundamentalists want to attack us again? Of course, the prospect of our nation enduring another major attack is too much to bear. Understandably, it is something we would rather not think about. After all, there is already so much to think about with the current state of the economy. It is a state where uncertainty prevails. Deep down we know we will get out of it but we just don’t know when and for many when just isn’t soon enough. But bad economy or not, we are but one explosion away from being thrust back into a state of terror that has never completely left our shores and won’t until we fully acknowledge what is in front of us. In a blog posted by Silver on Pajamas Media in November 2007, he wrote:

Many people felt that the threat posed by Saddam was more tolerable than the risk of removing him. I disagreed and still do. Many of these people now feel that the threat of a nuclear Iran is more tolerable than the risk involved in making sure Iran doesn’t have such capabilities. I think they have it backwards. Many people feel reluctant to acknowledge that the “war on terror” is a real war. There is an unwillingness to identify the enemy, which is clearly a world-wide, malignant, metastatic Islamic jihadism, that will only be defeated ultimately with the Islamic world rising to reject the cancer. We cannot fight a war by pretending we’re not in one. This requires transformative, upset the apple cart thinking. It requires people who are revolutionary, not reactionary. As much as we might like, we cannot return to a pre-9/11 world.

Ron Silver’s powerful voice might be gone but his words are still with us. We will mourn his passing. But the best tribute we can pay him is not to fill his shoes but to better fill our own. We can carry on by criticizing the Obama Administration on matters of foreign policy and national defense and where possible offer viable alternatives. We can challenge arguments made by left-wing commentators with commentary of our own that is hard hitting without resorting to personal harm. We can also discuss our own ideas and direction we think public policy should take. We can welcome their criticisms back in our direction. If they want to debate ideas and policy then we can give as good as we get. If they want vitriol then we can show the grace to walk away. Most importantly we can demonstrate why America is the greatest experiment in participatory democracy the world has ever known. This would go a long way in putting a silver lining in the cloud that symbolizes our sadness over the loss of this great man. Aaron Goldstein was a card carrying member of the socialist New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). Since 09/11, Aaron has reconsidered his ideological inclinations and has become a Republican. Aaron lives and works in Boston.