He did it again...

In a recent post I criticized our president for his undue praise of Islam and historical inaccuracies in his Cairo speech to the Muslim world. Like so many liberal relativists, the president seems to believe there is some sort of moral equivalence between Western civilization (Dare I call it "Judeo-Christian?) and the barbarians who brought us 9-11 and those who support and encourage them. It's actually a prevalent attitude among the elite, especially the inside-the-Beltway elite: you know, the attitude that these poor, sweet babies wouldn't have done those nasty things had we Christians been more diplomatic in our dealings with the Muslim world over the centuries. Anyway, what bothered me most about the speech was his apparent disregard for historical truth. And now comes another...

I didn't have an opportunity to hear the president's address at Normandy the other day, so I made a point of reading it. It actually wasn't a bad speech, and I'm sure he delivered it well. But like the Cairo speech, there was no reference to the challenge we face today -- the War on Terrorism -- which I find a bit odd. Indeed, the name of the current conflict seems to have disappeared from most Washington rhetoric in recent months. And there was one part of the Normandy speech that bothered me. It always seems to be the president's religious references that lead to questions. Here's the quote:

"The nations and leaders that joined together to defeat Hitler's Reich were not perfect. We had made our share of mistakes, and had not always agreed with one another on every issue. But whatever God we prayed to, whatever our differences, we knew that the evil we faced had to be stopped. Citizens of all faiths and no faith came to believe that we could not remain as bystanders to the savage perpetration of death and destruction. And so we joined and sent our sons to fight and often die so that men and women they never met might know what it is to be free."

I'm not sure what to make of the "But whatever God we prayed to..." line. I think I can say with a high degree of certainty that those men on the Normandy beaches in June 1944 all prayed to the same God. And the "Citizens of all faiths and no faith" phrase causes me to recall how many Muslim leaders in the Near East actually thought Adolph Hitler was a sweet guy who, coincidentally, would also remove those pesky Jews from the world stage. Hey, Eisenhower called his mission a "crusade" but I suspect we won't hear that word used again on any future June 6. Ah, well, as I've said before, a little moral confusion and hyperbole are to be expected in politicians' speeches. It's so hard to be all things to all people when there are so many different special interests and so little time to pander to them.

And did you catch the White House comment about Judge Sotomayor, confirming that she is, indeed, a Catholic: "Judge Sotomayor was raised as a Catholic and attends church for family celebrations and other important events." Hmmm, doesn't sound like that attendance is very regular.

Pray for them all: presidents, judges, terrorists, and for the conversion of all Muslims. After all, He did command us to "make disciples of all nations..."

Greater love...

A long day today -- Saturday, June 6 -- but certainly not the "Longest Day" of the sort experienced by another generation of Americans 65 years ago when they found themselves scrambling up the beaches of Normandy under heavy fire on D-Day. We owe these men --- many of them forever young in their graves -- and the others who stormed the beaches of the Pacific, North Africa, Sicily and Italy, a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. The best we can do is to remember them and their heroism.


I suppose that for most of us, history, and in particular recent history, is essentially personal. We automatically make mental connections between the events of history and the people who took part in them, especially when those people also entered into our lives. My father, who died a few years ago at the age of 95, was a veteran of the war in Europe and, although he didn't take part in D-Day, he did play a role in that horrible war. Perhaps more importantly, John McCarthy played a very active part in the restoration of postwar Europe, especially in the rebuilding of a free Germany. Whenever I see or hear anything about that devastating war, I reflexively think of him. Just as when I encounter anything about the Boxer Rebellion or the Spanish American War I can't help but think of my grandfather, another John McCarthy, who served in both conflicts. In the same way, as a veteran of the war in Vietnam, I cannot think of that conflict without also calling to mind the many friends who died there.

A few moments ago I heard a news report stating that almost 900 WW2 veterans die each day. This great generation of selfless heroes is disappearing before our eyes, and as they leave us their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are instead focused on the latest iPhone release or ranting about the results of the American Idol vote. Given the state of our educational system, I suspect many of these young people don't know why or who we fought in World War II.

If we know nothing of the totalitarian regimes of the past, it's unlikely we'll be able to recognize those we must confront today or will face in the future. Unless we learn to act like grown-ups, unless we grow up just as those young men on the beaches had to grow up, unless we change, and change quickly, I'm afraid we are doomed to join the countless other nations that make up the debris of history.

Blessings.