Disappointing Destiny?

 Although I’ve had the privilege of serving in five of the ten active US Army Divisions, I was never in the one with the best motto. The 101^st Airborne Division has an awesome motto – “Rendezvous with Destiny.”   The Division was activated in preparation for our expanding involvement in World War II.  The first commander, Major General William C. Lee, in his initial address to the newly constituted unit, read General Order Number 5 dated 19 August 1942 that begins:  “The 101^st Airborne Division, activated at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny. Like the early American pioneers whose invincible courage was the foundation stone of this nation, we have broken with the past and its traditions in order to establish our claim to the future…”

The same could be said of our fledgling nation in the early 1770’s -- no history but lots of destiny.  What faith our Founding Fathers had to have in order to risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for an unknown and uncertain future.   Even before they had penned their proverbial John Hancock’s to the parchment that proclaimed our liberty, they had a presupposition of what it would take to be a lasting success.  On June 21, 1776, John Adams wrote:

“Statesmen, my dear sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure, than they have it now, they may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”

A national survey of 1,000 adults was conducted late last year by Rasmussen Reports.  The question they sought to answer, “If America’s founders came back today, would they be impressed or disappointed?”  A plurality of 46% believes the Founders - a group that typically includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams - would view the nation as a failure.  Second to that number is the 36% of American adults who think the Founders would consider the United States a success.  The other 18% aren’t sure.  Think about that, nearly half of us think the Founders would find us a failure.  

For John Adams, it was “virtue” that would be the foundation for a lasting liberty.  Perhaps the half that thought they’d deem us a failure has recognized our country is virtually devoid of virtue.  Most students in our schools today would probably be hard pressed to define virtue, let alone demonstrate it to the satisfaction of the founders.  For Adams, it was pure virtue that held the key; for Thomas Jefferson, it was a right understanding of God that was the firm basis for our future success.

In 1789, while the Governor of Virginia, Jefferson put it this way, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever…”

The destiny with which MG Lee predicted they’d soon rendezvous ultimately included the harrowing parachute drops on D-Day into Normandy, the battle at Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge.  For their valor during WWII, this Band of Brothers, the 101^st Airborne Division, was awarded four campaign streamers and two Presidential Unit Citations.  They suffered 1,766 Killed in Action; 6,388 Wounded in Action; and 324 Died of Wounds during WWII.  Those figures alone make clear the high cost of successfully obtaining the liberation of Europe.  

This piece is not intended to solely lament the vapid state of virtue in our United States today.  More importantly, it is not implying an increased volume of virtue in our Republic can be mandated or legislated.  No, it will only occur if, and when, as Jefferson well said, the people’s minds can connect our liberty with the Giver of life; when they connect the Creator of life with the creation of our Constitution.  Now that would be a great class for a government school to give.  Like Jefferson, I too tremble that we’ll not wake up before God’s justice does.

This article also appears in the 28 JAN 2015 edition of the Upson Beacon.

We Wrestle Not Against Violent Extremism

In the last column, I was lamenting the lack of leadership in the free world today.  The contention was that we lack truth in the world nowadays, principally because there are virtually no political leaders earnestly contending for it.  The other two reasons are the media and secular schooling’s incessant and intentional dissemination of misinformation, and finally, because people today no longer hunger nor thirst for truth as they did in simpler times – in other words, demand is down.  Because of those three factors, truth is a rare pearl.

A kind reader commenting on that column reminded me that, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”   Most believers use this to establish that our battle is not with people.  This logic also enables one to love the sinner, yet hate the sin.  In this case, I believe his reminder was that frustration is misplaced if it’s merely directed at flawed, mortal leaders.  The verse in its entirety reads, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”   The verse suggests that it’s the spiritual forces behind the person that we should confront.   

The lack of leadership and deliberate denial of truth I lament is on parade when one is watching the Obama administration do cheetah flips trying to deny the obvious – that we are at war with Jihadists -- Islamic extremists.  Maybe more accurately, they are at war with us -- at least one enemy is honest.  That said, it’s an ideology, a spiritual force that we’re up against – but it does have flesh and blood adherents that are operating under its power -- killing people all over the globe.  Even though “Imam” Obama may say it is not Islam, the guys yelling “Allahu Akbar” as they practice what they preach make it pretty clear that they consider it Islamic. 

 

Contrast the Obama administration’s innocuous “violent extremism” explanation with what Billy Graham’s son said about the religion of peace.  After Duke University recently announced they were going to begin to broadcast Islamic chanting from the chapel bell tower, Franklin Graham declared, “As Christianity is being excluded from the public square and followers of Islam are raping, butchering, and beheading Christians, Jews, and anyone who doesn’t submit to their Sharia Islamic law, Duke is promoting this in the name of religious pluralism.”   

  

In the entryway of the CIA’s headquarters, there’s a famous quote, “And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.”   It’s from the book that was under Obama’s left hand when he took the oath of office swearing to God that he would preserve, protect, and defend the US Constitution.  If we can’t even be truthful about the problem that we’re facing, what hope do we have in defending ourselves from it?  In fact, Obama is doing the exact opposite of what the apostle Paul commanded those in Ephesus to do.  Obama tells us the problem is the people, the “violent extremists,” not the principalities and powers in place behind them.  

Our “Constitutional scholar” may want to recall our First Amendment -- government doesn’t get to establish religion - not for us, and even less so for those that want to kill us.  Perhaps he could convince ISIL that their “I” is for “Infidel” – not “Islamic.” Or maybe “Inconsiderate” or “Interfaith” or you pick.  I’m not a smart man, Jenny, but I can recognize a duck when it quacks - especially when the duck is spraying automatic weapons fire all-the-while quacking, “Allahu Akbar.” 

 

What the Book used as a presidential hand rest also says is that truth was embodied in a Man, a Man who was also God.  Think about that – if there is a God, wouldn’t you expect Him to be just that – Truth.  Knowing the God of the hand rest (which is not the same as the Allah of the Koran) enables one to know the truth.  Jesus said quite clearly, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”   That Jesus chap may not be very politically correct, but He was perfectly clear.

 And so, this is where the reader was right – my problem is not with Obama.  It’s his teleprompter I don’t trust. 

This column also appeared in the 21 JAN  2015 Upson Beacon.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

The term “Iron Curtain” was initially used by Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech.  In it Churchill outlined the two overarching strategic threats facing the post-WWII world; war and tyranny.  He spoke of the special relationship the US and Britain shared and role they could play to stabilize events and prevent war.  He then addressed the uncertainty of Soviet Russia’s long-term intentions and threat to tranquility they posed.  Said Churchill: 

“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organization intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytizing tendencies…..From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.…The Communist parties, which were very small in all these Eastern States of Europe, have been raised to pre-eminence and power far beyond their numbers and are seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control.”

I can clearly recall the Iron Curtain.  In 1980-81, I was a young infantryman, stationed in the former West Germany during what might be described as the most frigid point of the Cold War.  The Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan, Iran was holding our hostages, and Jimmy Carter was at the helm -- moving our nation’s morale towards a muddled malaise.  

Led by the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact was in a face-off of apocalyptic proportions with the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization.   The likely scenario had the Warsaw Pact invading from Eastern Europe, through East Germany, into West Germany, and onto the rest of Europe.  We were outnumbered in a big way.  It was estimated that NATO had just 6,615 tanks to confront the 16,000 of the Pact, in terms of combat aircraft 1,810 facing 2,500.   The conventional thought amongst us GIs; after enough Americans were killed we’d have the political will to go nuclear.

That border between the two Germanys, like the walls around the encircled city of Berlin, graphically displayed the physical nature of the face-off.   Perhaps you too can remember the images of Eastern Europeans trying to escape to the freedom and economic vibrancy of the West.  They would brave barbed wire and mine fields, armed guards and attack dogs, all in an attempt to flee the repressive ideology and underperforming economy of the communist Utopia.   That Iron Curtain was not only employed to keep those behind it trapped in the darkness of totalitarianism, it was also emplaced to keep the West’s light of liberty from shining in.

Today there’s an “Information Curtain.”  Its physical boundaries are more difficult to delineate; it’s a noncontiguous curtain, but those that are behind it are in darkness nonetheless.  What territory lies behind the modern day Information Curtain? Liberal academic institutions, the press rooms of the main stream media, Hollywood, the Democratic Party, Islamic enclaves and urban ghettoes, politically correct government schools, union halls, and secularized bureaucracies are just some of the areas behind the Information Curtain.  These disparate, and seemingly diverse factions, are all united in their desire to reject the truth and in their dedication to destroy anyone that dares to declare it in their midst.

The rulers of these regions are committed to keeping out truth.  Their strategy is deception disguised as truth.  Their offensive tactic is to demand tolerance, to deny the existence of absolute truth, of right and wrong – then intolerantly destroy anyone they deem wrong, who doesn’t embrace their revelation of right.  Their defense is to dismiss disagreement as “hate speech” or “fill-in-the-blank phobia.”  These modern day Pravda promoters rely on the media and misinformation to maintain control; developing false narratives that intentionally exchange the truth for a lie.  The theory of evolution, the philosophy of moral equivalence, multiculturalism, secular humanism, climate change, and the normalization of aberrant sexual behavior are all part of their politically correct propaganda. 

The Free World is in desperate need of a leader today. There’s no Reagan to declare, “Tear down this wall!”  No Churchill to challenge the curtain.    One of Churchill’s favorite songs was the Battle Hymn of the Republic – our Republic.  At his request it was played at his funeral.  My hunch on some of his favorite lines:   

“In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;  

His truth is marching on.”

This column also appeared in the 14 JAN  2015 Upson Beacon.

An Alternate View on “The Interview”

Stay with me on this one…as the young folks say, it’s complicated.  So a Japanese company, for all practical purposes, becomes an American company and then produces a film depicting the dictator in charge of an historical enemy of America becoming targeted for assassination by the CIA.  At one point, the movie depicts the dictator in a sexually compromising scene and then ultimately ends with the assassination of said dictator -- his head exploding for the exciting conclusion of the movie.  And the really funny part, it’s a comedy.

The sad part, that nation (America) that produced the film (The Interview) ended-up cowering from cyber and real-world threats reportedly from that same nation the film sought to make fun of (North Korea).  Supposedly it was the sexual scene (reportedly an orgy) that reviled, and thus riled, the enemy nation to wage their cyber vandalism. That same Japanese company (Sony), initially decided not to release the film about the dictator (Kim Jong Un) after their company was hacked, its executives embarrassed, and the theaters threatened.  

Then, on 19 December 2014, the FBI said it believed the North Korean state was behind the Sony hacking.  President Obama, in a press conference later the same day, pushed Sony to release the film. He said they should have called him first – he’d have directed that they distribute it.  There was a time when America would not have contemplated partaking in the making of such a foul film. It’s bad enough Hollywood is filming filth and promoting promiscuity – it’s irrational to invite retribution by promoting it from the Presidential bully pulpit.  We are in a precarious position when our enemy holds the moral high ground.

It’s not the only time our foes have sought to lecture us on our lecherousness.  Russia refused to allow the adoption of their orphans by Americans because of our demonstrated depravity.  In DEC 2012, the Russian parliament approved the banning of adoption by Americans.  In a vote of 400 to four, they made illegal the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples and by single people who live in countries where same-sex “marriage” is legal.   Said the vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, “The Russian government has been very consistent, in that the major objective has been to protect vulnerable children…and they have consistently done so with regard to homosexual propaganda so that children won’t be entering into those relationships that lead to tragedy and death often. This [adoption law] is just an extension of their concern for children.”  

Another recent film that caused a stir was one the White House continually lied to us about.  They repeatedly blamed an obscure YouTube movie for “a demonstration that led to riots” and ultimately the death of a US ambassador, an embassy employee, and two ex-Navy SEALs in Benghazi.  Obama later misled the world, telling the United Nations, “That is what we saw play out in the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world.  I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity.  It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well…”   No, it wasn’t the movie; it was the Benghazi cover-up that’s an insult to all Americans.

Now I’m confused about exactly what is crude and what is disgusting.   I’m confused about the Obama movie rating system.   So the Benghazi movie that they lied to us about “must be rejected” while he promotes an indisputably prurient movie to prove a point?  The Interview was eventually released, becoming Sony’s biggest film released online - making more than $15 million in just four days. 

But wait, there’s more.  On 2 JAN 2015 Obama issued an Executive Order stating, “The provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea, including its destructive, coercive cyber-related actions during November and December 2014 constitute a continuing threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”  Not to be outdone, North Korea compared Obama’s behavior to a monkey. "Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," said a spokesman at the National Defense Commission in a statement reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.

If only this were all just an infantile comedy.