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Life is a Gamble
Roberts’ Rules
by Stanley Roberts
Although most people scrupulously avoid risk-taking, the fact remains that everything you do in life is a form of gambling. From selecting your spouse to buying your house, one is never certain of the results. No gamble in life is more serious than going to war. Everything is at stake: life, liberty, property and family. America has been attacked; we have declared war upon our enemies. The end result is as certain as the sunrise. The deranged terrorists will be defeated, brought to justice, and, the world will be a better place when that is done.
This attack on America is reminiscent of Word War II. As a six-year-old lying on the floor reading the New York Daily News Sunday comics, I clearly remember President Franklin Delano Roosevelt coming on the radio and delivering his “Day That Will Live in Infamy” speech. I remember, as a ten-year-old, summering in the Catskills, the horns and joyful shouting of people riding in trucks and cars rejoicing over the end of the war. Most of all, I remember the great spirit of patriotism that prevailed while we struggled with rationing, coupon books, blackout curtains, paper drives, lead pennies and other sacrifices during the war. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” FDR bolstered the public spirit with his statement, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” This was more rhetoric than truth. We were facing a powerful enemy. The outcome was not certain. That is not the case today.
I tell you this as one who truly knows. I am an old soldier, retired some 16 years as a Lieutenant Colonel from the US Army after 30 years of service, active and reserve. I am career qualified in air defense and army intelligence; schooled in chemical, biological and radiological warfare; and trained in nuclear weapons employment. I am a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College. Believe me when I tell you that Osama bin Laden, the spoiled brat recipient of unearned family largesse, is not only twisted, ignorant and mentally ill, he is the biggest fool on the face of the earth. Can a flea expect to kill an elephant? Such is his sick dream. What he and Al Qaeda have done is nothing more than caused us to itch.
Now, I am not, by any means, making light of the great tragedy suffered in my hometown and by our nation, but we face far more devastating problems in our everyday life that we have taken for granted. More than 5,000 deaths in one day is devastating but relatively small compared to 35,000 Americans dying in “unsafe at any speed” automobiles every year. We live with that risk. Less than 10 people dying from exposure to Anthrax is miniscule (not to their families of course) compared to 400,000 Americans dying every year from tobacco-related diseases. We live with that risk.
We face death every day as we go about our daily routines and, eventually, the grim reaper touches all of us. We live with that risk. We have become accustomed to accepting certain risks. That has not changed, and we must not change our normal routines. President Bush has told us to go about our normal business. As your Colonel, I am making that an order. I expect you to take your vacations, fly on airplanes and do all of those things that keep America working; otherwise you have given the cowards a victory and you will be hurting our economy and eventually yourself. There is no neutral ground. You are either part of the solution or you are part of the problem.
Lastly remember these words: “A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man dies but once.” Gamblers are not cowards.
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