Memorial Day: Were all their Sacrifices Worth It?
On this Memorial Day, many of us pause to remember those of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country and our Constitution. Others celebrate a long weekend.
Only a very small fraction of our population ever served in our armed forces, and most have no family members who have served. With the passing of the generation that brought us victory over Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan, the “understanding gap” between those directly impacted by the perils of active military service and the rest of our population is only growing wider. “Thank you for your service” has become an almost empty expression that often means “I’m so glad I didn’t have to.”
Only a small fraction of our politicians have ever served in our armed forces. We have many moral cowards leading our Congress, and, sadly, many are Republicans who have historically been strong supporters of our military. These gutless wonders can’t even bring themselves to approve a bipartisan investigation into a violent attack upon their own chambers and fellow members. How can our armed forces defend a nation whose leaders include active insurrectionists? We are so divided, even our armed forces are facing the reality of large numbers who take the oath to protect and defend the Constitution and then threaten our fragile unity by pursuing white supremacist agendas.
We won’t defend ourselves from either domestic or foreign attacks upon our democratic institutions. Russian intelligence operatives have repeatedly instigated major cyber attacks against our nation’s vital infrastructure, and yet our leaders fail to respond. Russian leaders do not respond to verbal complaints. They see them as weakness, and they do not stop until they face a serious counterattack. Russia has been that way for generations.
Our former and now disgraced president used Hitler’s playbook to weaken our national institutions, dismantle much of our professional bureaucracy, attack professional law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies, pour gasoline on existing societal fissures, proudly claim to be above the law, attack any judges who stood in his way, make mass disinformation an art form, and dishonorably refuse to recognize the validity of an election that he lost by more of a margin than the one he won four years earlier. To top it off, he orchestrated a violent revolt against the branch of government charged with certifying the election results. Pretty much everyone watched it all happen on live television. What a tragedy!
Our political systems are not working. Why, in a nation with vibrant interstate commerce, do we tolerate fifty different responses to a global pandemic? How can we tolerate an arcane Senate rule that stymies majority attempts to legislatively address the major challenges our nation faces? How can we continue to allow a morally bankrupt pressure group like the NRA to intimidate legislators into opposing all reasonable gun control measures? I am convinced that even if we had ten mass shootings involving military assault weapons every week in our country, there still would be no response except “thoughts and prayers.”
I honestly believe that we are close to a breaking point in our great experiment in governance by, of and for the people. I am not sure what the end will look like. But those who have been in control of the levers of power for our entire history are not going to allow a new multi-ethnic and multi-cultural majority to exercise effective power over their pocketbooks. Plato wrote that this would happen. Our founding fathers never envisioned the kind of universal suffrage we now have. Our great experiment is on the very edge of failure. Sadly, large swaths of our general public either don’t care or wish it to fail. The Russians have done pretty much what their Soviet leaders predicted. It just took longer than they thought. Our downfall will not come from an external military attack. It will happen from within, with active complicity between our enemies and politicians they have bought.
And when the dam finally breaks, the nation’s military leaders must honor their oaths of office and establish an interim military government, complete with courts-martial to deal with the likes of Trump, Cruz, Hawley, McConnell, McCarthy and other traitors in our body politic. Trump’s pardons of those with whom he conspired need to be set aside.
And where will the church be in the midst of all this tragedy? Judging by their recent history, they will do their best not to take sides, lest the unity they cling to start to fray. Just stick with Bible study, prayer groups, and sermons that don’t get anywhere near the forces that are destroying the nation.
Never forget.
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