The Greatest Civic
Sin
There is a certain poem by
Rudyard Kipling. I can't quote it exactly, but the relevant two lines are
something like "When they ask why they died, tell them it was because
their fathers lied."
Kipling's son died on his
18th birthday in World War I. I believe the bitter little poem was
directed at himself, for Kipling had been an imperial enthusiast and had
used his influence to get his son a commission, despite his son being
underage and medically disqualified. Kipling was never the same after. The
illusions about patriotism and honor and glory vanished for him, as they
did for millions who died in that stupid war.
A lot of America's sons have
died because "their fathers lied." The U.S. government lied through its
teeth about the Tonkin Gulf resolution, an authorization for war based on
a nonexistent attack, which Lyndon Johnson used as an excuse to pour
American troops into Vietnam.
Franklin Roosevelt lied when
he campaigned and promised he would never send American boys to fight in a
foreign war. Long before he said it, he and Winston Churchill were
plotting to get America into the war. Woodrow Wilson had campaigned on the
slogan "He kept us out of the war," and then promptly got us into the war
after the J.P. Morgan interests told him all of their loans would be
jeopardized if the British were defeated.
I have come to believe that
the greatest civic sin is to lie to the people. It ought to be considered
the unforgivable sin. It undercuts the very basis of self-government. That
concept, pioneered by America's Founding Fathers, says that the people can
make the right decisions in the long run provided they are given the
facts. If they are lied to, they are denied the opportunity to make the
right decisions. They are, rather than choosing their destiny, being
manipulated by others for hidden reasons.
That's why I've become so
anti-war, which is not the same thing as being a pacifist. I will support
any war in the genuine defense of this country, but I have not seen an
honest war in my lifetime or read of one since the War Between the States.
Even World War II was based on lies. It's true that the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor. It is also true that the Roosevelt administration maneuvered
them into a position in which they had no choice but to attack the United
States. The Japanese certainly did not wish to go to war with the United
States if it could have been avoided. Even the Third Reich never had any
interest in conquering the world as Americans were told repeatedly during
the war.
Both the "War to End All
Wars" and the "War for Democracy" were based on lies. They were both wars
involving a conflict of empires and would-be empires, which did not
concern the United States. Peace and democracy had nothing to do with the
wars.
I served in the U.S. Army, 18
months on active duty and the rest in the Army Reserve. I'm glad, though,
that I wised up in time to discourage my children from joining. The
all-volunteer Army, which is really a mercenary Army, was adopted to make
it easier for the United States to go to war. The sons and daughters of
the powerful and influential, of course, don't volunteer. Our soldiers are
mostly minorities and lower-middle-class kids. They are wonderful
Americans, but they are, as far as the American elite is concerned,
expendable. They can be lied to.
We have become a nation of
liars. The politicians lie, journalists lie, corporate CEOs lie, and
stockbrokers and other salesmen lie. Advertisers lie. Businesses lie.
Preachers and priests and rabbis lie. And because of those lies, the young
in our own and in other countries die or have their lives blighted by
wounds, disease and poverty. As Thomas Jefferson said, if God is just,
we're in trouble.
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