The power of purple

By Mark West

Symbols carry tremendous significance in this world. We generally use symbols to portray a reality that cannot be conveyed by words alone. A new symbol has emerged in the folklore of our world that represents freedom. Surfacing from the wave of terror in Iraq was the two finger salute. As important as the salute is, the significance of the gesture is understood only when consideration is given to what resonates from the index finger...a purple stain.

The purple stain positions the Iraqi people on the path to freedom. The purple stain barks defiantly at the terrorist's threats. The purple stain symbolizes the plight of the Iraqi people in their quest for liberty. The purple stain was received by individuals when they voted in Iraq last Sunday. Who could have foreseen the power that would be unleashed by such a simple act of civic duty?

However, voting was not a simple matter in Iraq last Sunday. Terrorist groups threatened immediate and deadly retribution would be carried out against any who dared to vote. A morning greeted by explosions in the distance, became the greatest evidence that a nation of people was ready to free themselves from the tyrannical bondage of the last thirty years.

Symbols are important because of the message they send. Permeating from the purple fingers of Iraqi citizens is the clear message that terrorists are not winning their hearts and minds...democracy is! The terrorists offered fear and death while their government offered them choice and freedom, the later won out.

Desperation has trounced the terrorists as democracy seizes the nation. Terrorists have begun to resort to blatantly desperate measures in their fight against democracy. From strapping a bomb to a child suffering from down syndrome and sending the child to death, to staging hostage situations involving action figures dressed up to look like American soldiers, the terrorists desperation is beginning to be realized in Iraq. I've heard an account of an Iraqi family that voted because they knew the explosions were a sign of the terrorist's fear and weakness.

I heard a story today about a group of terrorists that went to make good on their promise to kill those who chose to vote. Upon their arrival the citizens in this town stood up to them and pummeled them, killing five and wounding eight. Power is slipping away from the terrorists and their doctrines of tyranny.

Why? Because the people have spoken!

Imagine what it would mean if democracy does take up deep root in Iraq. If such a plant could survive and produce fruit in the unfertile soils of Iraq, what could happen to the other nations of the Middle East?

It would be inaccurate for me to ignore the struggles that face Iraq even as I comment on the great achievement that they have accomplished in this election. Iraqis must find a means to include all groups in their new government. They must also prepare to defend themselves as a nation. However, pontificating from our cushy homes here in America is not going to solve the problems Iraq now faces.

Some in America sneer at the election in Iraq and try to downplay the impact it could have on the future of the Middle East. These want American soldiers out of Iraq immediately, practically leaving the fledgling nation vulnerable to its neighbors. What these fail to realize is that Iraq's future is our future. Their freedom is our freedom. Terrorism is a global war that will not end with the capture or death of any one individual terrorist, or with our withdrawal from the world around us.

If America will continue standing in the future, it will only be because we chose to continue standing today against the terrorist's threat to our nation and to other nations in the world.

© Mark West