2003 Soap Box Archives

Lest We Forget 05/19/03

The President flew out onto the deck of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft
carrier the other day to make a television address to the nation and
the world to say that the war in Iraq is all but over.

While we keep a wary eye on the dregs of Saddam Hussein's
forces and the other radical political factions in the area there is no
doubt that the back of the Iraqi military forces have been broken.
There is still a lot to do but hopefully the lion’s share of the
shooting war is finished.

President Bush probably wants to focus his attention and the attention
of the rest of the government on pressing domestic issues which need
some immediate attention.

I’m sure at the top of the list is our nation’s economy and rightfully
so. Medical insurance and many other glaring needs demand the
attention of the powers that be and hopefully will be dealt with
successfully.

One of the most painful issues which plagues our nation is the ongoing
battle with cancer. Cancer has become regrettably commonplace in our
society and while new diseases like AIDS and Sars capture our
attention, cancer goes on its deadly way, striking unsuspecting people
of all ages and all walks of life, disrupting lives and spreading
suffering and sorrow across the planet as few things in our history has.

Great strides have been made in the treatment and prevention of this
terrible disease in the last few years. State of the art research
facilities such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis,
Tennessee are making most encouraging progress in cancer research. But
they’d be the first to tell you that there is still much to do.

Cancer is a monster which cannot be given any quarter. It must be
destroyed, stamped out and nothing less than an all out war is going to
get the job done.

I feel that cancer can be dealt with successfully. When I was a kid
there was no more dreaded disease than polio. It crippled children for
decades until Dr. Jonas Salk made his earthshaking discovery.

I know that the goal has been illusive and sometimes seemingly
impossible but it’s doable if we will devote the resources and the
brain power to the task.

One of these days somebody is going to look at a computer readout or
peer into a microscope and say, there it is, what we’ve been looking
for all these years, a cure for cancer.

Cancer has hit close to home for many people and there will be no
letting up until we declare all out war on it.

What can we do as individuals? We can support St. Jude and the other
progressive research centers who are so diligently seeking the answers
to this perplexing and terrible problem.

We can demand that our elected officials don’t let cancer research get
lost in the bureaucratic shuffle and pork barrel projects.

And last but by no means least we can make absolutely sure that we and
our loved ones get our check ups every year.

As the old saying goes,”An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure.”

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

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