Awfully Quiet on the West Side

Listen. You can hear it. A strange silence has descended upon my neighborhood. It is everywhere, and it is very unsettling.

Three years ago in the midst of another election cycle, I wrote about the mindless, lockstep nature of politics on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I talked about the great irony of the people who consider themselves to be the most tolerant folks on earth, but who are not at all tolerant if someone has the audacity to diverge from the party line. Three years ago, I told you about the ludicrous conversations I overheard in my neighborhood. Three years later, I want to tell you what I am not hearing.

A new election is here. We are at war. And the threat to our country and our lives has hardly gone away. But no one talks about it. People refuse to broach the true source of our problems. When Islamic terrorists kill American soldiers with hundreds of IEDs, my neighbors seem oddly disassociated. Even worse, they blame not the hate filled extremism emanating from Arab lands that caused all this in the first place. They blame President Bush or Republicans in general.

Today, I no longer hear the sophistries like "Bush is an idiot" … or "it's all for oil" because they are simply accepted by so many there is no longer any need to vocalize them. If there is any criticism, it centers on Guantanamo or the Patriot Act. September 11, 2001 is still close, but the brief period that followed the attack, when flags flew from almost every building along West End Avenue, seems like some far off dream from 1944. "Did that really happen?" I wonder to myself, as I walk down the street and see today's cynical bumper stickers. It's as if people in my neighborhood are embarrassed by their brief flirtation with patriotism.

And if you still hold these patriotic feelings or if you believe our nation is indeed involved in a titanic struggle of civilizations you know what it's like on the party circuit in New York. It's not so much that it's unpleasant. It's more mind-boggling. When intelligent people willfully choose to ignore the very clear message of hate coming from the Middle East, not to mention the murderous acts of terror, there's a reason. It's called fear.

And there is no leadership out there right now, to help guide people through this difficult passage. It's not coming from the White House. It's certainly not coming from Congress. We have turned to Hollywood, sadly, and shows like "24" because we can't find heroes where we should. In the vacuum of strong leadership, people begin to doubt themselves and their values. It's human nature. That's why I see intelligent people all around me stumbling today from a mixture of fear, stupidity, and self-loathing. And no one is telling them what they need to hear — that we are right and they are wrong. It's that simple. On September 11 they created the inferno. On September 11 Americans ran into the fire to save strangers. How much more simple can it be? That has to be repeated over and over again until people remember it again.

In the coming months, the presidential campaign will concentrate on critical concerns like health care and global trade and the subprime mortgage industry. And none of these hold a candle to the one crucial issue that we are desperate for — a strong leader who understands the critical importance of national security. It is decidedly not the economy, stupid. Not this time.

How to handle all of this? By reaching backward. I have soothed my child and myself by telling and retelling a story that rivals Harry Potter in its plot line, its characters, and its suspense. Let me remind you as well: Once upon a time, there were some very evil men who roamed the earth and wanted to take control of the planet. They looked like giants and were the most vicious men the world had ever seen. They robbed and pillaged and murdered everything in their path. And just when it looked like no one could stop them, some very ordinary men like my child's grandfather banded together and went far off to fight these evil tyrants.

They fought under wise leaders they respected and who respected them. And after a great struggle and even greater hardship, this band of ordinary men thoroughly defeated these monsters. They destroyed their cities and burned down all reminders of them. Then they came home — those who survived — and pick up their lives right where they left off. I always remind my child and myself, these are the people we come from.

I still believe in this country and all of its goodness and I believe the people in my neighborhood have that same courage and common sense deep inside. All we need, all we want, is a leader to help remind us of who we are and what we stand for. It's that simple and that complex.

Here is my message to all candidates: Show us you can lead. Look inward. If you can't, get off the stage. Save your time and ours. And to President Bush: You have fewer than 500 days left in office. Take off the bowler and put the cowboy hat back on.

Some elections are not really that important. Others alter history. Without a doubt, we are heading into the latter.