I suppose there are few talents as important in life as seeing things clearly. George Washington, while leading the American Army in the Revolution, was particularly gifted at seeing things as they were, not as he wished them to be. He saw the poor state of readiness and discipline in his Army and took steps to address those deficiencies. And when the Continental Congress proved ineffective in getting the states to provide the necessary support for our soldiers, he unhesitatingly pressed Congress for a solution. He didn’t wish for a better Army. He saw clearly and took action.
I wish I could say that I was as clear-headed as Washington was when I commanded a Multiple Launch Rocket System battalion in the US Army, the 6th Battalion 37th Field Artillery in the 2nd Infantry Division. I recall that in the summer of 1995, my battalion went on a demanding 17-day field exercise that stretched our four batteries across a 40-kilometer front. This unusually large frontage was necessary for us to reach all of the targets we would need to range in war. Part of our challenge, among many, was how to resupply the battalion, including food for the troops in firing units sprawled across South Korea south of the DMZ. The plan I concocted was to consolidate their mess hall operations at battalion level where the food and rations would be prepared and then dispatched by truck to soldiers in tactical positions, who were busy conducting fire missions on simulated targets in North Korea. The result? For 10 days I nearly starved the battalion before my Sergeant Major prevailed on me to return the mess halls to the units to shorten the resupply lines so the food our soldiers received was on time and suitable for consumption!
You see, I was focused on a wartime scenario that I anticipated we would encounter in combat. My solution was to keep the firing units fleet-footed by consolidating less mobile supply operations at battalion level. But this was a training exercise, not war. Such austere tactics were not required then, even if they might be in combat. Besides, I was sure I could make this system work. Unfortunately, for 10 long days—and much hunger—I was looking at things as I wished them to be, not as they were. I made the changes and told my troops that I had made a big mistake. They knew that, but were glad I owned up to it.
That was an important lesson for me as a leader that I didn’t forget for the rest of my Army career and 16 years as a legislator. Self-delusion is not a virtue in war, or in government. Today we are beset by delusions that are threatening the future of our nation. Consider just three.
First is dependency. Since President Lyndon Johnson declared the “war on poverty” in 1965, government has spent more than $23 trillion. What do we have to show for it? Certainly, millions of people were helped. But in the process, the maladministration of those programs has contributed to millions more living a life dependent on government. Today, over 59 million Americans receive welfare monthly. Nearly 24 million children are on welfare. Whites represent 43 percent of welfare recipients; Hispanics 28 percent; and blacks 23 percent. We need to see this for what it is. Simply put, nearly one in five people are on the dole. When we facilitate dependency, we will get more of it. That harms the work ethic and encourages people to avoid finding gainful employment.
Second is that our national debt exceeds $26 trillion. In 2019, national debt interest alone was $393 billion yearly, representing 8.7 percent of the entire U.S. budget. Ominously, a simple spike in interest rates could balloon national debt overnight, consuming every bit of revenue we have in America to make interest payments. Our debt-to-GDP ratio—30 to 60 percent in the 20th Century—now exceeds 100 percent of the entire American GDP. That’s not happened since World War II. This threatens to destroy our economy.
Finally, the national failure to pass a balanced budget amendment is at the root of our profligate spending. Virtually every state in our union has this requirement. Not the federal government. True, the states don’t have to defend the country, nor do they have national emergencies to deal with. But know this: If we did have a balanced budget requirement, the indolent people we send to Congress might actually have to make real choices over spending and be accountable to us.
We are starving the work ethic, our economic well-being, and our taxpayers. It needs to stop. Of course, that would require that we see things as they are, not as we wish them to be.
PS: I’m happy to report that our book sales of Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War are going very well given we’ve only been able to market online because of COVID. The good news is that the book will be in bookstores soon and sales will surge. That said, we’ve sold almost 1000 copies in just four months! So help us push that number over 1000 and order your copy today or one for a Veterans Day (11 November) gift to your veteran! Many thanks!
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