I am convinced that probably our greatest need today is honorable men who understand the times that we live in.
I believe one such man is David Ray Griffin. He is a theologian who is pleading for justice today here in America. I don’t know a lot about his overall beliefs but I do agree with his position as stated in his article online which is a record of his debate with another theologian, Ian Markham.
David Griffin will probably never be elected to public office because he questions the idea of American exceptionalism. One part of that issue that he addresses involves the investigation of the 9/11 tragedy.
In my opinion our perception of the 9/11 tragedy is one of the defining issues of our day because either (1) we were blindsided by ruthless enemies or (2) we were betrayed by people within our own government, or some combination of those two, but in any case, responsive action is in order.
Since this incident was the precipitating factor for our extended military engagements with Afghanistan and Iraq then we need to ascertain the truth if possible. If we suspect that we have been lied to but are unwilling to ask questions then we could be a partaker of other men’s sins and we will be opening up a huge
door for deception.
The Assembly in Ephesus was commended because they could not bear them that were evil and even exposed the dishonesty of the people in question. (Rev. 2)
Some extremists have compared President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler, but I think a more accurate comparison would be to compare President Bush to Henry Kissinger. The reason he comes to mind is because after 9/11 President Bush appointed him to head the investigation of the attack. This is the same
Henry Kissinger that is wanted for war crimes in Chile. He is the one who ordered the Watergate break in, that resulted in several people going to prison. He is the one who is largely responsible for the bombing that resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in Cambodia.
Henry Kissinger was instrumental in Operation Paperclip in which Nazi scientists were given immunity from war crimes and brought to America to work of NASA and the CIA. He has been much more shrewd about his criminal activity than Adolf Hitler was. Shortly after his appointment as head investigator of 9/11 he resigned after being questioned about his business ties with the Bin Laden family.
The fact that President Bush chose Mr. Kissinger to investigate the worst terrorist attack on American soil, leads me to believe that it is not safe to assume that President Bush is a man of honesty and integrity. It appears that he was complicit with the coverup of the incident which is probably as bad as being complicit with the incident itself.
So, what can we do?
(1) Plead for justice
(2) Sigh and cry for the abominations done in our midst.
(3) Expose the unfruitful works of darkness and have no fellowship with them.
Back in the 19th century before the term American Exceptionalism was used, people spoke of America’s Manifest Destiny. President Andrew Jackson, spoke of "extending the area of freedom”. To understand what he meant by that you have to realize that he was chiefly responsible for the Trail of Tears in which many Indians died while being driven across the Mississippi River in spite of the fact that the US supreme court had ruled that they did not have to move from their farms, homes and lands.
In 1829 President Jackson said regarding the Indians that he wanted “to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people.” The discovery of gold in northern Georgia was a huge contributing factor for the evacuation of the Indians at that time. The evacuation was opposed by Senators Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and the missionary to the Indians, Samuel Worcester who won the Supreme Court case for the Indians.
It seems to me that we need to identify this republic to which our 6 years olds are pledging their allegiance to in our public schools. Are we promising our loyalty to the America of the Quakers who used Indians as baby sitters, or are is it the America that annihilated, contained, and confined the Indians? Is it Norman Rockwell’s portrayal of baseball and apple pie or is it the America that bombed Laos for over a period of nine years,
making it the most heavily bombed country in the world?
Last year I discovered the fact that from 1964 to 1973 the US hit Laos with, on average, a plane load of bombs every eight minutes. As far as I know there has never been an apology or an admission of guilt from the US government.
It is astounding to me that this is not well known fact of history. Not only is it not well known, but I have yet to find a person who has ever heard about this injustice. But even more astounding is the reaction I get when I
discuss the subject with my friends and associates. It seems like 90% of the time I get no response. Most people don’t even flinch. The sad reality as I see it, is that the bombing of Laos was an extreme case but not the only one of it’s kind involving the US military.
I am sure the average American citizen has no imperialistic inclinations, but the people who are employed in the defense industry or the Armed Forces could be described as snowflakes that make up the avalanche referred to as the Military Industrial Complex.
It was in 1947 that our Department of War was renamed the Department of Defense. At this point our “defense” budget is greater than the next 7 or 8 countries combined. Some people would call that an indication of aggression. Of course we have to have a military defense program, but if Yahvah doesn’t keep the city, the watchman wakes in vain.
Yes America is a great nation. Rome was a great nation also. But the argument is that America is a Christian nation...Keep in mind that Rome was a Christian nation too after Constantine converted. Constantine was famous for conquering his enemies in the name of Christ. But his was a pseudo-Christianity and if he could see us now I suspect he would be proud of the way we have continued his legacy of merging humanism and paganism with biblical precepts.
Ronald Reagan is famous for the fact that he stood up to Gorbachev and the Soviet Union but that does not supersede the fact that he bowed to the Pope. In so doing he showed his true colors.
Do our 6 year olds pledge their allegiance to the America that helped stop the Nazi Holocaust, or the America that aided and abetted the Nazi regime throughout the 1930’s through IBM, AT&T, IG Farben, Harriman Brothers, and Henry Ford? Do our 6 year olds pledge their allegiance to a republic that defeated Hitler
or the one that allied with Joseph Stalin?
The greatest deception is usually accomplished by those with a cloak of decency. I am convinced that we in America have created a subtle likeness of the Roman Empire and that one of our most prevailing forms of idolatry is that of nationalism. I welcome your input.