“If they only knew…” 

It’s a common phrase. A stock one. You hear it often. 

“If they only knew how much we sacrificed…” 

“If they only knew how hard we tried…”

“If they only knew how bad things were…” 

And do you know why that phrase is common?

It’s common because it’s true.

And nowhere is it truer than in regards to the Global War on Terror in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. 

CLEAREST TERMS, SIMPLEST FORMULAS

But there is a problem.

You can explain to people what happened over there, what our people did, how our people lost, and how bad things are now…and it seems like some people just don’t get it. 

They don’t get it at all. 

You can explain it in the clearest of terms. You can explain it in the simplest formulas. You can explain it in the easiest way…and they still won’t get it?

Why?

THE UPHILL BATTLE 

Did you ever play a sport or have a skill? And you could do it effortlessly? 

Knock that ball out of the park? Throw that pigskin across the gridiron? Nail that jab, land that takedown? 

And then when it comes time to teach somebody brand new, you demonstrate that skill, show them plain as day…

But then when it’s their turn, they make a mess of it!

That’s the challenge anyone with knowledge or experience of the Global War on Terror faces today when reaching out to the masses of American People.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine. It doesn’t matter if you are an academic scholar, a conscientious journalist, a deep diving historian, or a passion-packed activist. 

This is the uphill battle that everybody faces. 

Heck, you could have led a division in combat, or been awarded the freaking Medal of Honor…

And you’d still face this uphill battle!

NOT A FANTASY

This past year, I was speaking with an elderly friend of mine in her late 70s. In a very similar manner to my Grandparents, she was an early Baby Boomer, coming of age in the 1950s. 

I have many close friends and mentors from this generation. Some of them went on to fight in the bloody jungles of Vietnam. Others worked on the homefront in factories and construction sites. Others raised families, seeing sons and daughters grow up off to college and into the workforce. 

What strikes me about this generation is how deeply WWII is ingrained upon their consciousness…and how deeply that shaped their engagement with the War in Vietnam two decades later. 

Every one of these people from this generation knew someone who was directly impacted by the fighting in WWII, and later in Korea, many wounded and many dead. They each had a personal stake in the outcome of that conflict, even after they were over. 

It wasn’t a fantasy, it was real to them. 

But that’s not all that makes this generation unique. 

THE MORAL COMPASS

What’s more, people from that generation also have a much deeper-rooted Moral Compass in every area of life…and this includes the War and America’s role in it.

With this generation, whether Combat Veteran, Homemaker, or Average Joe, there is a certain moral sureness present that is lacking in today’s population of GenX, Millennial, and Gen Z alike. 

Sure, these past generations experienced many of the same doubts, fears, guilt, and regrets as those of today.

But underpinning those eternal human problems is a certain Moral Rock, stolid and unchanging, an anchor point of safety. The people of this past generation lack the rootless Nihilism that hangs over our current generations like a black cloud of doom. 

And within these two observations lie the key in understanding why so many people of today’s generation have trouble comprehending basic foundational concepts about the Global War on Terror in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. 

IN THIS MILIEU  

The observation is two-fold. 

First, many people today lack any kind of direct personal experience with the Global War on Terror, making it an abstract fantasy to them. To many people, it’s no more real than Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. 

Second, many people lack a basic Moral Framework for looking at the world. This does not mean to say they are bad people, but there is a lack of Moral certainty in every aspect of life. There is much confusion, ambiguity, and fundamental despair.

Everyone is operating off of their basic instincts of self-preservation, reactive and lashing out. Very few are using Logic and Intuition at all, and this creates a lack of foresight and understanding. 

Nihilism is the result.

It is in this milieu that you are trying to discuss the Global War on Terror.  

Sincerely,

Richard Barrett

02-01-2024

Written at 1:44 PM, somewhere in the USA…

Sources Cited

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