I agreed with a big part of Gordon Heck's column about the Vietnam War (May 22), but I, first of all, must question his premise that "a significant portion of the population believes America is a lesser nation." Not so! Most people that I have contact with in the Smoky Mountains -- and even the rednecks in Las Vegas-- believe that America did not fight to win in Vietnam. I had the privilege of teaching the Phanton 4e pilots in the graduate programs Ball State offered in the early 1970s in Germany and the Netherlands, and the common story air force officers told was that they were not allowed to win. This is the real belief most Americans hold, too.
Second, I must question Heck's claim that America is a "gentler nation" as a result of Vietnam. We have never been a gentle nation. We were born in war and had the worst civil war in the history of mankind-- probably the only moral war in our history.
Third, we have a "compassionate military force." What a gut laugh! One of my sons is a navy officer who received ribbons for the Gulf War and Somalia, and he was trained to be a warrior-- not a missionary. But our warriors and disciplined.
Fourth, our military is different than the military of the 1960s because of better educated and trained people and because of technology. Most of the enlisted crew of about 145 who served on the sub my son was assigned to were college graduates.
Fifth, we didn't become the most powerful nation in the history of mankind since Mr. Bush was declared president by five Republican justices on the Supreme Court. We've been the most powerful for a number of years. But Bush has squandered our prosperity. He has the worst economic record of any president since Herbert Hoover, and his war on terror will never end. Take the Middle East as the example. President Bush has stood so fast with Israel and been so biased toward the Palestinians that he's quickly lost his road map. In the words of our radical right-winged Mike Pence: "We are not, nor do we aspire to be, an honest broker." That, my friend, is the problem! Most of the worlds' people are convinced that the United States cannot be honest in diplomacy when Israel is involved. Middle East peace requires the most powerful country in the world, to be honest. The Bush government is about as honest as the New Yorker Magazine. In the New Yorker, radical fundamentalists are mostly Muslim, occasionally Christian, but- despite all those Uzi-toting settlers- never, ever Jewish.
Today (even in Muncie) we are more aggressive and intolerant than at any time in history- and this is not by accident. It's due, in part, to W.'s "Christian nation" ballyhoo. And if this unconstitutional prattle continues, we'll get really nasty. This is what "compassionate conservatism" is doing to America.
Finally, we have a President who has the historical memory of a gnat, and he is surrounded by folks who pay no attention to history. But Bush has his permanent war that the American people do not want. Check out almost any poll on the question of a permanent war. Yes, America is a winner in Iraq, and Americans love a winner. But look at the pitiful opponent!
If you don't believe it, ask Omar, bin Laden and Saddam - if Bush can find them.
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