A Question of Truth

[David]

reprinted from the commentary section of patriotfiles.com


October 2001

The issue at hand during these dire hours of early warfare is truth. The truth is a fickle thing. Easily distorted for even the best of reasons. Sometimes the truth is altered to help us forget how responsible we may have been once upon a time. We reconstruct the truth as we remember it because to recall the real truth requires painful self-assessment and at times even shame.

In 1975 the people of the United States turned off their collective TV sets to avoid watching the fall of Saigon Vietnam. And America began the reconstructive process. First it seemed best not to talk too much about the war in South East Asia. Then, after a few years had passed, we began to break out of our national denial. We began to finally discuss the war. But a curious thing occurred. Nobody ever mentioned that millions and millions of Asian men, women and children were systematically murdered not long after our hasty departure. This type of amnesia has happened before. I remember people telling me that maybe the Nazis never really slaughtered six million Jews. I also remember reading that maybe the allies were aware of the mass murder camps but just decided not to stop the ovens. What was the truth?

The truth is that Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam were all cleansed of non-conformists, intellectuals, and Christians after America left the scene. We did learn of the killing fields ? but far, far too late to make a difference. So one has to ask the question. Should we have stayed the course? Maybe communism really was a bad thing. We had tried to keep the battlefield as far from home as possible. But in the end this strategy backfired. Separating us from the fear, and hate, and destruction, wrought by the communists in South East Asia and elsewhere. This made it easier to deny the truth about our violent world.

So now the truth is back. Staring us all in the face. Now the truth is here at home ? not on some distance shore. Will America stay the course during this war? Will the people of our great nation rise to the occasion and support our national effort to battle this new threat? I wonder. Yesterday, while watching TV I heard a group of organized citizens state the President had overstepped his bounds by declaring a war against terrorists. They are proudly starting a legal action to stop the bombing and fighting in Afghanistan on the grounds that Usama Bin Laden is only a criminal. In their collective opinion he should be arrested. Even dragged into court. But not considered a soldier of an enemy army. As I listened I wondered how much longer before we hear louder voices shouting out that the war is unjust or cruel.

The well-known father of modern psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, found fault with people who were willing to delude themselves by engaging in flights of intellectual fantasy. He observed that people would ignore the naked physical truth if it made them feel better. He said, ?If it were really only a matter of what we chose to believe, instead of what is real, then we could choose to build our bridges out of paper instead of stone!? Patriotism should be built of stone and not paper. Our efforts must be realistic. Not based in intellectual fantasy.

I do not look forward to the upcoming national debate as the fantasy weavers spin their version of the ?truth? for all of us to consume. I hope most of us will recognize their efforts as simple appeasement. I hope people everywhere remember that we were attacked on American soil. That the blood of thousands of Americans stains the soil at ground zero. And I hope we all realize that we are still under attack! Any discussion to the contrary is simply a weak attempt at conflict avoidance by those who wish to stay out of the line of fire. Show your support for our men and women in uniform, at home and abroad. Remind your friends, family and neighbors each and everyday that there is, and always has been a high price to pay for freedom!

Aim Small ? Miss Small!

Martin Strong