In February 1967 I registered for the draft. The war in Vietnam had begun to rage out of control and the Johnson administration had decided to mobilize millions of young American men to take up arms, to fight in a war thousands of miles away, ostensively, in defense of our country. My family had served in the military dating back to the French and Indian Wars of the 1760s. My father and uncle were both combat veterans during WW II.
The Draft Lottery
That war invaded my home every month via Leatherneck, the official magazine of the US Marine Corps. Each issue presented graphic stories of combat in Vietnam, making the thought of ending up there less than desirable. Fortunately for me but not for hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, and marines, or millions of Vietnamese, a draft lottery was introduced in 1969.
The lottery worked much like similar lotteries today. Three hundred and sixty-six birth dates (one for each day of the year) were drawn at random. On the morning the draft rankings were posted in newspapers across the country (remember in those days most of us still got our news from the local morning paper) I rushed to the library along with most of the other draft eligible young men at the college I was attending to check out our status. I read hurriedly through the list twice to finally discover that my draft number was 365. I sighed in relief.
The Cost of That War
This was not December 1941 when America had tragically been attacked by the forces of the Empire of Japan all while Nazi Germany was decimating most of the countries of Europe. The reasons for enlisting then were clear, the call to defend our country compelling. However, few understood the reasons behind the conflict in Vietnam, the origins of which were murky and disputed.
What was neither murky nor disputed was the eventual cost of that war. Here is just a brief list of those costs:
58,132 Americans died, 150,000 were wounded, 21,000 of whom were permanently disabled, with 100,000 struggling with PTSD and tens of thousands suffering from the long-term effects of Agent Orange.
Over two million Vietnamese died, with hundreds of thousands displaced, and an equal number put into “re-education” camps; many died.
Anti-war protests tore our country and culture apart and created immense distrust of any future decisions made by the American government.
The shame of watching thousands of Vietnamese who had faithfully served America that were left behind in the same fashion as when our troops left Afghanistan.
A continuing legacy of distrust toward official proclamations made by one administration after another over the last fifty years.
Now here is the truly sad legacy of the War in Vietnam. Much of the rationale for America’s increased involvement in the war was based on lies. Like the war in Iraq and the more recent chaotic retreat from Afghanistan, events were manipulated to justify what later happened. For example, the August 7, 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that was passed overwhelmingly by both the US Senate and House mired us in the mess that the war in Vietnam became, was based on distortions of facts communicated as absolute truth by then President Lyndon Johnson.
Hopefully you grasp the meaning of the title of this article. And hopefully it becomes apparent why we Americans are increasingly reluctant to embrace the “official explanation” of almost anything that comes from our government or media. That reluctance seems to grow as our government persists in being ever more willing to tamp down legitimate questions from thoughtful people with accusations of disinformation and misinformation and with phrases like, “the experts say” or “the research is clear”. Statements to which I always respond with the questions, “Which experts, what evidence?”
The Lies We are Told and Too Often Embrace
To be clear, I am not a conspiracy theorist. I do, however, believe that there is a high price being paid for the lies we are told and too often embrace. And I do believe that we are being told an increasing number of lies which are employed to justify actions to achieve political and cultural ends favored by those who hold a worldview that is often in direct conflict with the Truth as revealed in the Scriptures.
None of that, however, should surprise us as followers of Christ whose lives are to be shaped by the Scriptures. Satan, who is the father of lies, is fully committed to achieving his goals, goals that always conflict with the desires and purposes of our Lord. And in fact, lies are one of the main weapons in Satan’s arsenal in his continuing war to thwart and overcome the purposes of Yahweh and the work of the Gospel. What should surprise and trouble us, however, is how easily it seems that we fall prey to those lies. Part of the reason for that is the relentless and effective messaging strategy employed by the Enemies of Truth.
For years in our country the Enemy has controlled the levers of power and information, starting with our educational system and filtering through the main means of information transmission: the media. Unfortunately, we, the people of Truth aren’t always paying careful attention to the meaning of events unfolding all around us and when we do it isn’t long before something comes along to dampen or divert our interest.
Consider Two Recent Occurrences.
First, how is it possible that such rabid
anti-Semitism has emerged, seemingly in such a relatively short period of time here in the USA? The next question: Why has the response to this evil been, at best, tepid and in many cases on our
campuses actually encouraged? In reality we at best,
we shouldn't be surprised. The answer to my
question is simple. People act on what they
believe to be true and what they believe
to be true is what they are told is true – over
and over again by people they trust, people like their teachers. We then need to recall the reality of which Jesus reminds us, “A student when fully formed will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). That is why education is the most powerful means for transmitting both Truth and error in any place, at any time.
How often, however, do we pay any real attention to what is being taught daily in our local public schools? Probably not nearly enough until the Covid 19 pandemic pulled back the curtain on what was being taught in those schools. After all, we have been repeatedly told school is simply about teaching kids to read, write, and compute along with a bit of history, geography, and science. In reality, curriculum in the public system has long advocated for a progressive, naturalistic worldview that excludes any consideration of how the Scriptures have shaped the way we in this country view the world and our role in that world. It, however, includes large doses of DEI, CRT, distorted descriptions regarding sexual orientation, and zealous claims of a coming climate catastrophe. And also makes it difficult for students to ask hard questions or engage in thoughtful debate about the premises which underlie much of what they are being taught.
Right now, lies are woven deeply into the structure of our educational systems, curriculums, and within our corporate media as well. Is it possible that those same lies are also taking hold of the American consciousness because we, the people of God, have become increasingly less discerning and less able to use God’s Word as a lie detector? Thank God for the few scholars and teachers of Scripture that are still willing to stand firm for Truth while fearlessly confronting error.
Lies not only distort the truth, they also destroy trust, mangle lives and eventually upend entire civilizations. That is a big price for any individual or country to pay.
Please continue to pray for my work with Christian school leaders. Working with them as I do places me, and those who are called to that work, at the epicenter of the battle for Truth. We need your prayers and your support.
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