The American reluctance for war is admirable, yet it threatens our very freedom and democracy.
It nearly allowed Germany and Japan to conquer most of the world during World War II, and it is evident in two wars today.
Russia is engaged in an expansive war to take over territory in Ukraine, and the Palestine-Israel War rages.
Hamas, which controls the Palestinian government, initiated a genocidal attack on Jews in Israel. Israel countered and many Americans including major political leaders are, incredibly, siding with Hamas.
Just as America tried to avoid war against Germany and Japan as they conquered territories in other nations, today many Americans are essentially siding with the aggressors.
They do so for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is a blind ignorance of both history and current events.
Henry Hemming, author of “Agents of Influence: A British Campaign, a Canadian Spy, and the Secret Plot to Bring America into World War II” relates a gripping account of how difficult it was to get America to support Great Britain as it was under Germany’s withering attack.
A synopsis on the back of the paperback book summarizes: “In this extraordinary tale of foreign influence on American shores, Henry Hemming shows how (William) Stevenson came to New York … and flooded the American market with propaganda supporting Franklin Roosevelt and decrying Nazism.
“His chief opponent was Charles Lindbergh, an insurgent populist who campaigned under the slogan of ‘America First’ and had no interest in war.”
Lindberg was the news media’s darling, and he adroitly exploited it.
Today, undoubtedly millions of Americans are siding with Hamas-led Palestine, which engaged in genocide against the Jewish state on Oct.7 when it slaughtered 1,200 men, women and children in Israel.
Andrew Carey and Abeer Salman reported in CNN (Dec. 21) that Palestinians and Israelis alike are getting skewed perspectives from their news media.
And, in my opinion, which is informed by 61 years in journalism, our very own news media is serving us serially slanted reports of “spot news,” which is defined as the latest news reported immediately.
Spot news is vulnerable to manipulation by sources with axes to grind.
Example. Trump mouths off and journalists report it without fact-checking and or give it prominent, lengthy reportage of what he said and burying contrary information, if any, deep in the story.
Currently, it is fashionable for media to emotionally slant the news. One of the results, especially on television, is to focus on families grieving for lost ones or captives and demanding that Israel quit attacking Hamas in Palestine.
From the perspective of one who lost a nephew in Afghanistan and another who came home with serious PTSD, their sorrow is misdirected. In their sorrow, they are siding with Hamas terrorists whose objective is genocide.
Their October attack on Israel was heinous beyond belief. It was the largest attack against Jews since the Holocaust. For young readers, if there are any, that was more than 70 years ago.
Television hasn’t shown us video of Hamas terrorists raping women in front of their husbands and children. No interviews with grieving Israelites who were forced to watch as they were shot. Some were literally butchered. The worst slaughter I can’t even mention in a newspaper column.
Hamas has tricked Western media into demanding that Israel quit fighting them in Palestine because innocent Palestinians are dying.
They are dying because Hamas is using them as shields.
Turning to Ukraine, we have the once Grand Old Party carrying Dictator Putin’s water, refusing to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.
Lindberg finally found the good sense to support America and her allies in World War II. Pray that American supporters of Hamas and Putin wake up. Democracy is truly at stake.
Day has lived in Pullman since 1972. He served on the Washington State University faculty for 32 years as a science communicator, retiring in 2004. His peripatetic readings are catholic, with a small c.
