About Rod D. Martin
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Faith & Cultureby Rod D. Martin
Founder and Chairman
TheVanguard.Org
March 16, 2006
Andrew Sandlin has posted concerning Andrew Sullivan and Francis Fukuyama’s recent recantings of their earlier positions on the war. It is worth reading, and I will repost it here, with further comments of my own at the end.
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The most surprising news relating the current American war in Iraq emerges not from streets of Baghdad but from the editorial pages of American magazines. Some of the neo-conservatives, denizens of the vanguard Right rushing all over themselves just three years ago to proffer intellectual tresses for the president’s war effort, have in the aftermath of a bloody occupation that may foster a civil war done a public about-face in now repenting and complaining about American “narcissism,” “naiveté” and “unilateralism” in our undertaking the current conflict. Both Francis Fukuyama (America at the Crossroads, Yale University Press) and Andrew Sullivan (“What I Got Wrong About the War,” Time, March 13, 2006) recently experienced something akin to a religious conversion in revolting against the neocon rationale for the Iraq War and its entire foreign policy philosophy. This reversal is validly available to all whose initial support for the war did not feature a moral component: “Saddam is an evil, a torturing, murdering tyrant who must be displaced by a humane democracy.” Or, “Iraq possesses or soon will possess WMDs, and its regime must be overthrown to protect the citizens both of Israel and the United States. Under the circumstances, regime change is the most humane action we could take.”
After all, Saddam was by all accounts (except his own) a torturing, murdering tyrant; and Iraq had employed WMDs against the Kurds (whether Iraq possessed them in 2002 or not).
If the chief justification for invasion was not simply pragmatic (we can get away with it) but rather moral (this is the right thing to do), we can scarcely reverse ourselves because the invasion did not bring a swift antiseptic success festooned with the all accoutrements of Western democracy. RealPolitik does not well serve the cause of moral indignation. Moralizers are not entitled to say with Sullivan: “The specter of Iraq teetering closer to civil war and disintegration has forced a reckoning [among us neocons].”
Memo to Fukuyama, Sullivan and Co.: buck up and be men. If the invasion was morally justified, and if the chief rationale for it was in fact just such morality, stand up and take your lumps. After all, while all of us are entitled to change our mind, moral principles do not change every three years. If they do, they weren’t principles — or moral — in the first place.
Now is not the time to be squeamish, gentlemen.
You never count the cost of doing right.
You do right.
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I realize that by “vanguard Right” Andrew is not talking about TheVanguard.Org or Vanguard PAC. However, I would just like to note — lest anyone miss the point — that we have not changed our tune in the least regarding American foreign policy in Iraq or anywhere else; and additionally, that while we mean no disrespect to Mssrs. Fukuyama or Sullivan, just at the moment, we’re rather glad we do not now and never have had them in our association. Andrew’s assessment of their present performance is precisely correct (we would add that Mr. Fukuyama’s entire “end of history” thesis is riding on the line just now, and with his magnum opus in re-release, this is no doubt much of the motivation for his current comments), and we are both saddened and distinctly unimpressed.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.