AM (an
American combat aviator with an inquiring mind): Gentlemen, as I currently endure a once, highly
acclaimed health system attempting to minister to the accumulated bodily (my wife would include mental as well) wear and tear
stemming from my three decades of military experiences, I can’t help but
snicker at absurd “war-weary”
complaints (see also here,
here,
and here).
Old
Gadfly: There is a lot to unpack in what
you just said. We all know that the
Affordable Care Act, in concert with a bloated and highly inefficient,
government-run Veterans Administration healthcare system, has swept in a nearly
fatal blow to America’s healthcare system.
So, let’s focus on the “war weary” comment.
AM: First of all, you will not hear complaints
from those who actually wear the uniform of our armed forces. And, they represent only 1% of our
population. Add another 6% for those who are living and have worn a military uniform. The complaints come from the
ranks of the remaining 93% who have been kept safe by that 7%. Imagine:
only 7% have invested their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to
preserve our freedoms.
Old
Gadfly: They understand what is at
stake. I recall a very powerful
reflection by General
Douglas MacArthur, who fought in World Wars I and II, the Korean Conflict, and
other expeditions and conflicts.
On
May 12, 1962, MacArthur spoke about “Duty,
Honor, Country,” to the Cadet Corps at the United States Military Academy
at West Point. As we talk about America’s
“war-weary,” there is a particular passage in MacArthur’s speech that
especially resonates with those of us who have actually served in our
profession of arms:
The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to
do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would
rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.
This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the
contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must
suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears
ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: “Only the
dead have seen the end of war.”
IM
(an American citizen with an inquiring mind):
We seem to have lost that sense of leadership among our civilian
political leaders. Look at how our
nation turned on George W. Bush. Armed
with a
bipartisan Joint Resolution from Congress, Bush
had the courage to actually force the removal of a fascist tyrant to allow
an educated population an opportunity to advance the concept of
self-governance. Sure, the effort was
far from perfect. But, when members of a
political faction realized they could not stomach Bush’s 90%
public approval following the 9-11 attacks and then the more than 70% when
attacking Hussein, they had to politically assassinate Bush as indicated by an internal
memo by Senator Jay Rockefeller (the memo was originally released by the
Hill.com, but has since been removed).
Old
Gadfly: What we are witnessing is how
political elite have shaped a war-weary narrative for political purposes. This political faction was very successful in
convincing America that the wars we were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan were
wrong and immoral—because Bush, a
Republican, made the decision to commit our armed forces to these
endeavors. They conveniently forget the
political momentum that had developed well before Bush entered the picture.
IM: Then, when we see how national debt now
exceeds our GDP, for the first time in our history, we seem powerless to
reverse the pattern of behavior that got us to this point. Labor participation rate is still the lowest
since 1978.
Old
Gadfly: Speaking of 1978, international
and national conditions called for courageous and wise leadership. Just the other day, I located the First Inaugural Address that
Ronald Reagan gave on January 20, 1981, and listened very closely.
AM: Reagan spoke of American heroes, a
characteristic unique to being an American.
He also understood that peace could only be secured through strength,
economically and militarily. Here is a
telling picture of shifting priorities based on government budget data between
1962 and now:
So,
you see that our investment in preserving liberty is becoming overshadowed by a
push for greater dependency on “entitlements” controlled by the government.
IM: Obama either does not comprehend the same
concepts and principles advanced by Reagan, or he has a completely different vision
of America—one that needs no heroes because political elite, at the helm of a
large and powerful central government, will provide what Americans need.
Old Gadfly: Reagan’s leadership was unifying, uplifting,
and constructive. Even more so than in
1981, we badly need a Reagan today. Has
America lost its capacity for heroic behavior?
I hope not.
