We live in troubled times. How troubled? Consider six trends and historical context. Some news is good, some bad – but the key is preserving our ability to correct what ails us. Without that, we will flounder.
First, death from wars. We are doing better. Wars are down. War-related deaths fell sharply after World War II, and while “peace” has not broken out, we do have more of it.
World War II killed up to 56 million in four years, perhaps 28 million more from disease, and starvation. Those are stunning numbers to type or read, population of the US in 1900 (76 million), of the entire human race 1000 years Before Christ (BC).
World War I left 20 million dead, and nine million wounded – horrifying numbers, hard to process. “Twenty million” is seven zeros. If an NFL stadium holds 60,000 souls, that is 333 stadiums of humanity gone.
In 1950, the first year of the Korean War, the conflict killed 550,676. In 1951, the war took 395,817 lives. Vietnam’s height, 1972, saw 299,083 dead. After a troth, the war took 249,266 in 1984, mostly in the Mideast. Since then, we have done better, down to 12,000 in the decades after, only hitting 83,668 in 2014, and 204,009 in 2022, driven by African conflicts.
US military deaths, despite conflict, also dropped. Of the top ten wars in American history, Afghanistan –2001 to 2021 – ranks ninth in deaths, 1,833. That said, thousands were wounded and 100,000 US allies, many with special visas and promised safety in the US for helping us, were abandoned to die at Taliban hands by Biden.
Is there a flip side? Yes, two caveats: We are only protected by deterrence, which is sliding. The minute we think we are safe, we are unsafe. Caveat Two: Invisible combat, information warfare, cyberwar, unrestricted warfare, all conducted through hacks, false flags, misinformation, misdirection, AI, public corruption, swarming our border, insertion of ideological conflict, terror cells, and drugs.
Net-net, we are better off in real terms, when it comes to war dead, but with footnotes.
Second, material prosperity is high – despite fiscally irresponsible leaders, inflation, volatility, overregulation, high interest (to combat inflation), and distortion of free markets, supply-and-demand.
One data point shows promise: “After accounting for all income, philanthropy, and noncash welfare benefits, the bottom 20 percent of Americans have a higher level of material consumption than all citizens in most rich countries,” and “from 1990 to 2015, consumption per capita in America increased by 65 percent….”
So, with that good news to start, what about the rest? How about spiritual grounding, self-reliance, education, public corruption, trust in leaders, principles, and the rule of law? Not so good.
The third issue, spirituality. Numbers are not encouraging. Those who regularly attend church have dropped from 73 to 47 percent since 1940, and 70 to 40 since 2000.
Fourth, self-reliance: We seem to be giving up it, that is, on ourselves – or so the media would like us to believe – determined to become dependent on the government. Not good.
Fifth, education. Where do you start? Everywhere, schools are failing, teachers are pressed not to allow independent thought, critical thinking, originality, questions, and wonder, instead pushing mediocrity, excuses, non-performance, non-accountability, and leftist political ideas.
But … stop. Look deeper – and take some hope. There are counterpoints.
On faith … if church attendance is down, 81 percent of Americans say they have faith – mostly Christian – or see themselves as “spiritual,” believing the physical is not the end. This in turn – while not good for churches – suggests human conscience at work.
On self-reliance … The Millennial Generation, less trustful of traditions that defined, inspired, and protected their grandparents, are entrepreneurial, independent, and distrust government. Like old-school traditionalists, they want to set their own sails.
On education… we could write novels. For all the failures, a new wind blows. Growth in homeschooling, private and online schools, and distrust of leftist school boards, superintendents, and unions are hopeful. More objectivity and parent input too.
So, at last, the “big kahuna” – public corruption, trust in leaders, principles, and rule of law. These are the crux. In a free republic, we fix mistakes, but if we lose the ability to do so, we are lost.
So, are we lost? Not yet, but we have a White House intent on holding power, demonizing critics, transparently corrupt – now covering felonies by arresting sources of proof, FBI informants.
We have several disgraced prosecutors trying to stop a popular Republican presidential candidate, abusing their power – in an era when Russia’s president, by inference, just killed his top opponent.
We have an alarmingly vacant president, disrespecting Supreme Court rulings on gun rights and abortion, student loans and overregulation, unwilling even to protect the sitting Justices.
In short, and most troubling, we are growing untrustful – of everything. We need to get that back, as soon as possible. Without trust in the freedom and ability to correct our problems, what have we? Not much. Do we live in troubled times? Yes? Can we self-correct? Yes.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
