Jerry Moran: “This resolution is not as much about Libya as it is about us. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could control events around…”

“This resolution is not as much about Libya as it is about us. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could control events around the world, determine the way that people see us and always accurately predict the consequences of our actions? But that's not what life is all about. The best we can do is establish the values and the principles that define us individually as citizens and collectively as a Nation. This resolution is not about whether we should be involved. We are always going to be involved in what is taking place around the world, because we are the world's economic, military and moral superpower. To choose not to act, particularly at a time of such crisis and transformation that is occurring throughout the Arab world, is, in fact, to choose. In this case, it would be to choose to define us as a people who has decided to look the other way, to choose not to hear the cries of desperate help from the Libyan people who have chosen to put their lives on the line in the cause of democracy, of individual liberty and of freedom from oppression. These are the values that define us as a people and as a Nation. They are the values, frankly, that give hope to a world of repression and despotism that will, in fact, continue to exist and, in fact, will gain strength if we do not stand up, speak out and ``have their back'' at such a time as this.…”