Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

TWO SIDES OF THE RIVER

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

Preface.............................................viiThe Political Side of the River.....................1The Spiritual Side of the River.....................63A Final Word........................................213A Note to the Reader................................221Sources.............................................223

Chapter One

My America

On a cold February night in 1940, in the small cotton-mill town of Bladenboro, North Carolina, I was fortunate to take my first breath in the world's greatest country. Good fortune again smiled on me by allowing me to be reared in the company of America's Greatest Generation.

Bladenboro was one of many cotton mill towns that dotted the landscape of the rural South in those days. My first venture away from the place where I was born occurred at the age of twelve, my cousin invited me to join him on a train trip to Florida to visit relatives. It was the beginning of a lifelong quest to explore not only the country but also life itself.

During my formative years, there were never sufficient hours in a day to satisfy my cat-like curiosity and the adventuresome nature of a Huckleberry Finn. I am still pursuing that quest today, and I suppose writing this book is a manifestation of my love and respect for the heritage of this great country and what has happened to it.

Reality is what it is, and we must confront it. Many Americans are living in a fantasyland that, in large part, accounts for our troubles and will lead to our eventual downfall. To be born in the United States of America is a blessing that only a very few of the world's six billion inhabitants are privileged to enjoy. Sadly, many Americans fail to appreciate their good fortune and are about to forfeit what they have taken for granted far too long.

In those days, politics and materialistic pursuits were not an obsession as they are today. Financial gain was necessary for survival, but it was low on the list of priorities for most people. My parents taught me that there are far more important things in life than the pursuit of wealth and chasing rainbows. Strong faith in God, good moral principles, integrity, responsibility, respect for others, and honesty were universally understood to be the proper motivation for dwelling among other human beings. Many people my age long for the America we once knew, when selfishness and self-serving attitudes were not a way of life as they are today. America has gone through many hardships and struggles to maintain the legacy willed to us by our founders and ancestors, and old gravestones display the names of those who sacrificed their lives to protect and defend this great country. Our schoolchildren are denied the true history of America and are indoctrinated with American-bashing falsehoods that shelter them from the reality of what is about to be taken from them.

My earliest clear recognition occurred in May 1945, and it is still fresh in my memory. I was standing on the porch of our small, company-owned house with my mom and dad and being frightened by the commotion and noise taking place in our otherwise quiet neighborhood. People were scurrying about the streets, car horns were honking, police-car sirens were wailing, and whistles at the nearby cotton mill were blowing. I can easily recall the commotion sixty-five years later. After a time, when things quieted down, I asked my dad what was happening; being a man of very few words he simply patted me on head and said, "The war is over." I was not fully aware of what war was, but even at such a young age, I knew it was a very important development.

As time passed, and veterans began to return home and share their experiences, I knew that the military would be part of my future. Those experiences instilled in me a never-diminished respect for the sacrifices of those men and women who would never see their loved ones again. Even as a young child, I recognized how blessed I was to be born in America. Brave, selfless men, and women, continue to die every day to defend our freedoms, but the youth of today give little respect to their sacrifices. The best that America can produce make up our military, and the twenty-two years that I was part of the world's greatest organization are the proudest of my life.

It is impossible not to be sad by the knowledge that children and grandchildren are facing a country far removed from the America preserved by parents and grandparents of people my age. However, things being what they are today, those days are lost forever. America has sacrificed a great deal of wealth and lives to defend against those who wish to do us harm. The threat to our country, however, is not from foreign armies. Like most of the great societies of the past, we are self-destructing from within.

Lessons from History

Edward Gibbon's great historical book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, is a sort of blueprint for the destiny of all great societies, and the reason for America's downfall can be seen in that blueprint. The similarities are striking, beginning with Rome's failure to control the influx of foreigners that breached its borders and took advantage of what it had to offer. Rather than assimilate into the existing society, newcomers worked to change it, and change it they did. Rome's form of government and strong military made it the leader for hundreds of years, but the breakdown of morals; alcoholism, sexual deviancy, idolatry, and the erosion of a stable leadership and discipline in the military, contributed to the failure to defend itself against foreign influences that led to its downfall. As a pagan society, Romans had so many gods to worship, it was impossible to identify them all. To be sure, not to offend one, they would add another god and worship them all. Rome did not disappear; it just disintegrated. I am afraid that a similar fate awaits the United States of America. As Rome, America will not disappear, it will become a mere remnant of its once glory.

There have been many great empires in the past, including those of the Romans, Egyptians, Persians, and Babylonians, among others. Where are these countries now when at the height of their power they were considered too powerful to fail? The common thread that brought about their downfall was the concentration of power among the elite and the apathy of an affluent society that ignored the walls crumbling down around it.

The United States of America is not a young nation; 200 to 250 years seems to be all the time required to cycle a country through its birth, growth, and decline. History has shown that apathy, abundance, and ignorance by the populace—mixed with greed and corruption of the leadership—ensure the failure of a society to sustain itself with any measure of stability, and nations continue to repeat the same mistake, and have for thousands of years.

The Threat of Communism

The same internal threats that existed in this nation at its founding are still with us, but today we have a far different leadership. Rather than build upon the foundation our founders created, current leaders are determined to destroy it. Bigotry, distain, and yes, even racism directed toward the founders and builders of this great nation, has led to pure hatred of all things American by many of those in power today. The underlying theme of their...