Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
May 31, 2012

“America’s New Debt”
Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, Friend, don't waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You're in that man's clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate. Don't procrastinate—there's no time to lose. Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper! – Proverbs 6:1-5 (The Message)

Americans have been reminded over and over in recent months about the mountain of debt that our government is preparing to pass on to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It is enormous. But there is another “debt” that few speak about. And it is not the first time it has been mentioned.
Years after the Armistice was signed in 1918 it was called, among other things, The Great War and even The War to End All Wars. How naïve. But it was indeed a massive undertaking. About 4.5 million Americans were mobilized. Of these, more than 320,000 were killed and wounded between 1914 and the signing of the Armistice. The First World War was history.
In preparation for the war, America’s peaceful resources were mobilized. One author wrote, “Over-night we exchanged the habiliments of peace for the panoply of war.” Millions of young men were persuaded to volunteer to be soldiers and sailors and marines. Hundreds of thousands were sent overseas to battle somebody else’s armies on soil that some of their distant ancestors may have plowed.
When the returning warriors came home, they were welcomed by cheering countrymen. America showed its pride in creative ways. Bands and orchestras played new compositions to honor our heroes. Gratitude was demonstrated in ways never before seen anywhere on the planet in such large numbers. The survivors of World War I were acclaimed as the “Saviors of Civilization.” Promises were made by our nation’s leaders that our brave fighting men and women would not be forgotten but would receive the best of everything America had to offer. Such promises were soon forgotten. Instead of being generous to those who gave their best in battle, our leaders were generous to our Allies overseas. Billions of dollars of Europe’s war debt was forgiven or cut in half. American industrialists that had amassed fortunes from war contracts demanded even more money from our government in entitlements, and their demands were honored.
Unfortunately, it was not true for those who fought “over there” and their families. How did our leaders compensate those who made Victory in Europe possible? What high honors were heaped upon those who served in the trenches and in the skies over Europe? Medals were given. Eventually, our military heroes received $60 apiece, with more promised. Payment for duty overseas amounted to $1.25 per day per person, and $1.00 per day was paid for domestic military service. And when were these payments made? Years after the Armistice was signed!
Commenting on the seriousness of the condition of America’s veterans of the First World War, Virgil Chapman—U.S. Representative and later U.S. Senator from Kentucky—wrote, “My friends, this obligation is a debt America can never pay in full, a sacred debt to those who risked their lives and sacrificed their health fifteen years ago, that liberty and democracy might survive. Oh, for an awakening to the sacredness of that obligation—a revival of the spirit of 1918.” (100 New Declamations, Babcock Co., Ft. Worth, 1932) Today, nearly 100 years after the launching of World War I, America has a new debt to pay. It is not to Wall Street officials or leaders in the banking and insurance industries. It is to American fighting men and women who currently serve our nation in places near and far, and to the families of those whose lives were lost in defense of defenseless people of other cultures. It is a debt that will never be completely paid. We should not need days like Veteran’s Day, Pearl Harbor Day, or now, 9/11, to be reminded of the fact that we still have a number of men and women who are putting their lives on the line—they continue to pay the price and we owe them a debt of love and gratitude!!
Pastor J. T. Carnell