- I no longer believe that our reaction to the Vietnam War was an anomaly.
- I no longer believe that we can fight wars by proxy.
- I no longer believe that Arab nations are capable of sustaining liberal democracies.
- I no longer believe America cares about genocide.
- I no longer believe we have the will to win against global jihadism.
While these lessons are harsh and pessimistic, I remain optimistic about the future of my nation. Just as God looks after fools, drunks, and little children, I believe he watches over America. Although we do not have the necessary will or wisdom to protect ourselves from foreign destruction, I believe--perhaps naively--that God will keep us from such harm.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that same about our self-destructive tendencies. I fear that if we decide to unapologetically embrace hedonistic materialism that God will leave us to our folly. Destruction by our own hands, rather than at the hands of jihadists, may be a cold comfort. But its comforting nevertheless.
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1 comment:
I disagree that our reaction to the Vietnam War wasn't an anomaly. I think a massive shift took place in our culture in the 60s and 70s with the hippie move which resulted in the opposition to the Vietnam war and I think enough people were influenced by that movement that even to this day any kind of warfare is difficult.
The classic Christian position on war has been just war theory, and that was the prevailing opinion in our nation until the 60s. Now we are very much divided between just war theorists and pacifists.
Hence I also think that our will to win against global jihadism is dependent (ultimately) upon whether the Christian worldview or the hippie worldview prevails, which is ultimately dependent upon God's ultimate purposes.
Basically, if there is a resurgence of orthodox Christianity in America then our nation has many wonderful years ahead of it. If the 60's movement and its current pseudo-Christian spin-offs prevail then there is reason for pessimism.
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