East L.A., Bosnia, Somalia, Belfast, Chechnya and now Canada have or almost have fallen apart. Why are societies crumbling?

The U.S. military has embraced the Alvin/Heidi Toffler's idea that we are in the "third wave" of civilization, the computer age. But, this doesn't explain why families, businesses, schools, churches and governments are falling apart, not evolving into way stations on the "information highway."

Martin Van Crevald is closer to defining what is happening when he says, we're in "fourth generation war," which is fought not between nations, but between fragments; yet, fails to explain why. If we are to defeat this "fourth generation" war, we must understand it and build our forces accordingly (not just computerize another version of "Desert Storm").

The media have spread the perception around the world that "death is around the corner" be it by fire, flood, war, disease, famine, etc.....This creates a world full of people, desperately wanting to live and enjoy all of its comforts now; yet, they are unwilling to patiently work to maintain/improve social institutions let alone fight and die for their country.

Wrongly believing that "God is dead," and that their lives have neither meaning or accountability, we end up with street gangs, militias that rape/massacre entire villages, middle-class drug users, sexual deviants and states/provinces that want to break away from corrupt bureaucracies.

Modern man is in deep despair. His social institutions are crumbling because people think they are not worth saving, they just want their pay check so they can go home and "eat, drink and be merry" as much as possible before they die.

Astonishingly, the U.S. is now the third largest population on earth behind China and India. We are still together, barely. Our strength is that we are still based on Judeao-Christian absolutes, which give each person unconditional value and purpose governed by the rule of laws derived from a law giver, God, who hold each one of us accountable for our lives.

For our system to work properly, our citizens must be God believers, who use their freedom responsibly, taking an active role in the country's course, while not abusing their freedom as party-going hedonists. Without responsible people researching issues, finding solutions and fighting for their use amidst a corrupt bureaucracy, our social institutions too will fail. Fighting corruption can also be fun, those that can only be stimulated by an alcohol buzz should try it.

The answer for this country, this U.S. Army and the world is the Judaeo-Christian world view that we all have unconditional worth, the earth is ours to care for even as we ultimately journey toward death. God has communicated accurately to us by book, both a pardon and a promise to return to set things right. In the meantime though, we cannot achieve "utopia" due to adverse human nature. Still, we can build a resilient world through "high-tech" means, while still preserving the environment. For example, a skilled U.S. military can conduct modern war by targeting the physical/psychological hinges(s) of our enemies, not through annihilation. The military should turn our enemies into our friends by respect for truth and the exploration/colonization of space. Plenty of adventure and success for us all.

The key to all of this is solving the "war" that goes on in each one of our hearts. This is where we need mental toughness to blast our way through this war realizing while only an 80 percent solution is possible, we can endure the other 20 percent and cherish the great moments when they occur.

Being happy most of the time is far better, than none of the time. The nihilist idea is embodied in the "NO FEAR" t-shirt slogan: "If you cannot win, do not play". Defeatist ideas like that are possibly why we let our social institutions collapse. These ideas are formed from ignorance of history. All of the great advances have come at a cost through trial and error. If we have a whiny society of "no fear" type slackers who will give up the effort the minute they place 2d, 3d or 4th place we will have a dead society. The Wright Brothers didn't make a working airplane on the first try. They had many models that didn't work, as did many other inventors. We need to step back and realize trial/error is a normal way of achieving excellence and not get discouraged when we receive set backs. This mental toughness comes from knowing our Creator and the fact that each one of us is unique and we CAN win because we have won many times before. And most importantly WE CAN BECAUSE WE MUST.

RETURN TO AES HOME PAGE