Two of our brave U.S. soldiers, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc.
Thomas L. Tucker, have been brutalized and killed by our enemy in
Iraq. Words are inadequate to express our feeling toward the
perpetrators of this outrage, nor to express the deep appreciation
we feel as U.S. citizens toward all of the heroic men and women,
and their families serving in this war-ravaged nation.
Two of our brave U.S. soldiers, Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, have been brutalized and killed by our enemy in Iraq. Words are inadequate to express our feeling toward the perpetrators of this outrage, nor to express the deep appreciation we feel as U.S. citizens toward all of the heroic men and women, and their families serving in this war-ravaged nation.
San Benito County is heroically represented in terms of men and women serving their country in this conflict. A grateful nation and a grateful county salutes them. How is it that a powerful nation such as the United States has been unable to accomplish the comprehensive goals that we set out to accomplish in Iraq? Part of the answer is to be found in our collective psyche; the divisions in our concept of the U.S. as a country, and in our concept of Western civilization overall. The development of multi-culturalism in U.S. and Europe plays a role in our collective schizophrenia.
Several years ago, the Harvard sociologist Nathan Glazer declared, “we are all multiculturalists now.” Columnist Lawrence Auster says it this way: “It cannot be denied that over the last 20 years multiculturalism has become the ruling idea in America, incarnated in every area of society ranging from educational curricula to the quasi-official establishment of foreign languages, to mandated racial proportionality schemes in private employment and university admissions … to the constant invocations by our political, business, and intellectual elites of “diversity” as the highest American value.”
Multiculturalism takes as a starting point, the equality of ALL cultures. Under this proposition, America does not have ‘or should not have’ a dominant culture. Rather America is an amalgam of many cultures, all of which make a contribution that is basically equal in value. What emerges from this viewpoint is that perhaps the “enemy” that we are dealing with in Iraq has a culture that is morally equal to U.S. culture and thus the notion of “winning” this war rings hollow to the proponents of multiculturalism.
Fast forward to the bigger question. Is it possible to win a war that is not specifically for a defined territory but is more for a way of life, without a belief that the cause for which we are fighting is morally superior in a real and immediate sense?
The U.S. has not actually won a war since World War II. Korea was a draw (although an important one since South Korea represents a great success), Vietnam was a loss, Gulf War one was incomplete, and Gulf War two is ongoing. One indicator of the depth of commitment of a nation in a war, is the capacity for demonization of the enemy as indicated by posters, cartoons, and editorials. The posters and images produced during WWII were graphic to say the least. One shows a dramatic picture of a knife driven through a Bible, in the hand of a German soldier displaying a red swastika on the sleeve. The caption is “This is the Enemy.” Another shows a grotesque two-headed monster, one head being an Anglo face with a battle helmet bearing a swastika, the other head being a caricature of emperor Tojo grinning menacingly. Both heads have blood dripping from their teeth. The caption is “Stop this monster that stops at nothing!” These were posters actually created by the Government’s Office of War Information.
Can anyone conceive of the U.S. Government or the civilian press creating and running posters like these in the current environment of multi-culturalism? Clearly posters are not the cause of success or failure in war; but they represent a time-stopped symptom of the attitude of a country at war. This war is much less extensive than WWII, of course but the savagery that unfolded this week indicates this war is no less brutal.
Multiculturalism originated in our colleges and universities. It is not surprising that the most egregious opposition to this war comes from our college campuses. We are saddened not by dissent relating to the decision to go to war; we hope there will always be vigorous debate when a decision concerning a decision of war is upon us. But once a war decision is made our brave fighters deserve a unified “Thank you, and Godspeed.”
Al Kelsch is a local resident who writes a weekly column for Free Lance that appears on Fridays.
