The Fragile Web of Life
The bold caption in the obituary section of the newspaper that announced the death of a Royal Air Force officer at the age of 105 grabbed my attention. The first sentence about the deceased pilot’s life, John Hemingway, further piqued my curiosity. He had been the last surviving pilot who flew against the Nazis in the Battle of Britain in the fall of 1940. Hemingway and his fellow RAF pilots were outnumbered by almost 4 to 1 in planes and men, and yet fought off the vastly superior German Air Force and saved Britain and perhaps the world from Nazi tyranny.
Flying a hurricane fighter, Hemingway was shot down four times but managed to survive and fight another day. He flew combat missions not only in the Battle of Britain but also during the Battle of Dunkirk, and the Allied invasion of both Italy and Normandy. He was awarded one of Britain’s highest military honors, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service.
John Hemingway
During the terrifying days of September and October of 1940, after the French army had collapsed and the British army had barely managed to escape from Dunkirk, England appeared ready to fold. The British Isles prepared for an invasion against overwhelming odds against an enemy that had conquered most of Europe in a matter of weeks. Only the RAF pilots stood in the way of Hitler and his ambitious plan for world conquest. The dogged heroism of the RAF pilots turned the tide of the war for Britain.
After the German Air Force failed to achieve its military objectives, Hitler called off his invasion plans and Britain was spared defeat. It may go down in history as Britain’s greatest military hour. Winston Churchill’s reflective words honoring the bravery of the Royal Air Force have been forever etched in the annals of military lore: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Hemingway’s obituary reminded me once more that the men and women who served in the war in the 1930s and 40s to defeat the totalitarian regimes of Germany, Italy, and Japan have almost left the stage. In just a few more years, only inscripted graves will mark their memory. What a debt of gratitude the world owes them.
My father served as a navigator on a B-17 during the war, and afterwards he decided to stay in the military. I grew up in the 1950s on military bases in Europe and America and read histories of World War II and played “Army” with my base friends almost as if they were rites of passage. At base theaters, I watched war movies with my brother and dreamed of one day serving my country like my father. I was proud to be a military “brat.” In an uncertain world, the military institution is essential for democracy’s survival.
Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress”
During my time as a pastor, I performed scores of funerals for World War II veterans, as well as Korean War and Vietnam veterans. I cherish these warriors and honor their service. Even now, I become emotional just thinking about the sacrifices they made and continue to make for our nation.
When the war ended, America and her allies did not take advantage of their defeated enemies by exacting retribution, but worked to rebuild the defeated nations and economies with initiatives like the Marshall Plan. The Free World recognized that the best way to insure a more stable and peaceful world was to create organizations, institutions, and agencies which would promote the ideas of freedom and democracy around the world. Organizations like NATO, Voice of America, and USAID were created to unite freedom loving democracies as a defense against autocratic states like Russia, and educate people living under dictatorships to the ideas of freedom, and to supply needed medical and food supplies for the sick and destitute in the underdeveloped nations.
Throughout the 20th century, other agencies and institutions were also formed within our own country to strengthen the nation’s social fabric, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Millions of Americans live in dignity because of these vital services. America’s social safety net helps provide domestic stability and security, especially among the less fortunate.
These institutions and agencies, like the military, provide millions of people relief during economic downturns, sickness or old age, and help narrow inequalities that exist in a morally and ethically indifferent market system. Furthermore, America’s institutions have contributed to our country being the world’s leader in scientific research, medical breakthroughs, human right’s advancements, and technological progress. We are the civilization we are because of these institutions. They are certainly not perfect by any stretch, but through the work of these institutions we continue to be the envy of the world.
I wonder sometimes if today’s X, Y, and Z generations aren’t aware of the incredible contributions these institutions have made that have helped to build and continue to sustain our way of life. Even those of us born in the 40s, 50s and 60s can have lapses of memory by failing to acknowledge the importance of these essential American pillars. On occasion we may complain about them, but think what life would be like without these foundational supports of our society. So much of what we enjoy on a daily basis is the result of the creation of these institutions and the “Pax Americana” constructed by the United States after World War II.
With our frenetic lifestyles, we can thoughtlessly take for granted that life has always been this way. Yet, our institutions have served vital functions these past 80 plus years that have brought our world closer together and have helped to spread democracy and prevent war. Think how our institutions of higher learning have attracted students from every geographical region on earth, and have introduced untold numbers of young minds to the ideas of democracy. American technological innovations have greatly improved our lives, and scientific and medical advancements have increased not only our life expectancy but also the quality of our time on earth. Then, too, the study of humanities has opened our eyes to other cultures, languages, and ways of thinking that can guide us as we grow in our relationships with other people and lands.
When I hear of America’s institutions being shut down or greatly reduced in workforce, I grow increasingly concerned. Such wholesale dismantling of critical infrastructures snatches away the framework that has made our democracy strong and vibrant. I am not suggesting that these institutions do not need to be evaluated and sometimes modified or even replaced, but any such process needs to be thoughtful and measured, not simply based on some computer algorithm.
The Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Education, USAID, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Center of Disease and Control, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute of Health, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the National Nuclear Security Administration (some of the 350 staff who were fired are now trying to be rehired), and many other agencies and institutions have either been greatly diminished in personnel or have suffered grievous financial deductions in their operating budgets. Most of these decisions have been implemented by computer experts who have little to no knowledge of the workings of government. Such reckless action will no doubt have adverse consequences for our nation and world, maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon.
Why are these incredibly important decisions being made by people who have limited knowledge of these agencies? If the foundations of our democracy are weakened, the fragile web that holds our way of life and the world together will be broken. And when that happens, and it will, I have serious doubts that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men will be able to put it back together again!
