[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13] [House] [Page 17848] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]LAST BEST HOPE OF EARTH The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. McCOTTER. Madam Speaker, undreamt by all but the mind of God, on November 9, 1989, a chance was breach-birthed through a blood spattered wall, and heralded by the joyous chorus of freedom unfettered. Confusing this chance with entitlement, hubristic humanity christened this transient moment ``the end of history.'' For a spell, her siren song stupefied and sedated all who wished the world was different, for it was, wasn't it? Universally, right reason retreated before her beguiling tidings of permanent peace, as statesmen, scholars and citizens boasted the future was at hand, though not in their hands because these elites assumed ``the end of history'' had relieved humanity of its duty to shelter and shape the fragile civilization separating us from savagery. But duty was not so easily abdicated, nor was reality so cavalierly ignored. Incessantly through the benighted times, incipient sparks of tumult flitted before blinded eyes, wafting heavenward, spiraling downward and mirroring the death of the chance. Incidents begat situations which begat problems which begat crises and--Nothing, as the pyre of hope flamed out; and mercilessly, ``the end of history'' was found murdered amidst the ruins of evil's wanton feast on September 11, 2001. With the chance turned to ashes in our hands, we've stumbled from our slumber to feel our way through a shadowy series of dire events. Frustrated and fearful, we are tempted to seek relief by wallowing in a mire of suicidal denial or sating ourselves on the saccharine succor of sophistry. Such desperate acts will ill avail us in our quest for the true resolution of our troubles. No, a generation who embraced ``the end of history'' to elude its duty must now reacquaint itself with its own history in order to understand, confront, and conquer the quartet of crises besetting it. Thankfully, for enlightenment and inspiration, our generation of Americans can still turn to this Nation's Greatest Generation. America's Greatest Generation faced and surmounted four crises: the social and economic upheavals of industrialization, including the Great Depression; a Second World War against abject evil; the rise of the Soviet ``super-state'' as a rival to democratic capitalism; and the civil rights movement's struggle to equally ensure the God-given and constitutionally recognized rights of all Americans. Today, our generation of Americans must also confront and transcend a quartet of crises: the social and economic upheavals of globalization; a third world war against abject evil; the rise of the communist ``China, Inc. super-state'' as a rival to democratic capitalism; and moral relativism's erosion of our Nation's foundational, self-evident truths. Yet there is a critical difference between the crises conquered by the Greatest Generation and the crises confronting our generation of Americans: Generally, they faced their crises consecutively; we face our crises simultaneously. In response, we must construct prudent policies which, through the moral rule of law, wrest order from the chaos. In this purposeful pursuit, we must be heartened and guided by the Greatest Generation's greatest virtue: their moral clarity. The Greatest Generation knew America was the greatest Nation. This was no blind belief. This conviction, born of right reason applied to the providential unfolding of their personal experience with America's fundamental truths, traditions, rights and duties, empowered the Greatest Generation to prevail against all odds and attain the zenith of acclaim. Now our generation of Americans must possess the moral clarity needed to meet our quartet of crises. Yes, there will be those who will pale amidst our perilous present, and those who deny the inherent decency of our democracy and decry its righteous defense. But if our resolve erodes absent right reason and such cynics prevail in the public square, we are damned. For if in our duty we falter and fail, generations unnamed will rue the day we slipped the womb to salt their Earth. Thus we must embrace what we cannot escape. Once more in the life of our free Republic's revolutionary experiment in democracy, we, its sovereign citizens, confront a historical crossroads which will determine whether our children are bequeathed a legacy of freedom or serfdom, of liberty or slavery. Our path is stark; our task is great. Yet, with God's guidance through these transformational times, we will seize our moment and deliver America from evil. Then, one day, later, perhaps sooner, but wherever the future holds our transcendent tomorrow, free Americans and an emancipated humanity will kindly recall our courageous defense of the ``last best hope of Earth.'' ____________________