Global conflict on a massive scale is how we might number our world wars. They are also a matter of “total” or “all-out” wars, where the nations’ entire economic resources are ordered towards victory.
I count the Seven Years War (known as the French & Indian War in America), and American War for Independence – as World War I. No professional or textbook historian will bother to re-write the numbering, but that’s OK. It began as a brushfire or local event, directly ignited by the 22-year old George Washington, by the way.
But it spread into a strategic contest for world domination and colonial acquisitions, from America to India. It went into a lull from 1763-75, until it was re-ignited on April 18, 1775, in Boston. Like happened in the World War from 1939-45, nations changed sides! From the American viewpoint, the British went from allies to enemies, and the French from enemies to allies. Spain and the Netherlands, looking to trim British power, also declared war, making them de facto American allies.
By this novel re-numbering then, World War II was the knock-down, drag-out, blue-ribbon, 5-star fight-to-the-finish, sparked by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, a true “total war” that lasted from 1789-1815. Few historians would argue that this doesn’t fit the definition of a world war.
After Waterloo, Europe was able to craft a centuries-long peace, marred briefly by the Crimean War in Russia, where – Gasp! – England and France actually became allies. But the weakening of Spain and the unifications of Germany and Italy once again began a contest of worldwide colonial control, which would lead to World War III, the contest of 1914-18.
I only wish Donald Trump was not running against himself. His campaign promises to END wars, not begin new ones, garnered him support.
World War IV was the global, murderous fight of 1939-45, no introduction necessary. It concluded with a threat to the entire planet, caused by nuclear weapons.
It is customary to strew flowers over these wars. This is because the individual courage, suffering and spiritual angst of the individual participants, which included soldiers and civilians alike, is something all can admire. The concentration of power, the blundering diplomatic moves, and the secret manipulations are still being discovered and talked about.
And we are watching it all play out once again, as World War V is unquestionably underway. A few thin, reedy voices are objecting. They are drowned out, or “cancelled” in the modern terminology. This would include Rand and Ron Paul, Marjorie Greene, Chuck Baldwin, Thomas Massie and Josh Hawley. They are more loyal to Donald Trump than Donald Trump is.
I am still looking for an honest Democrat. Any Democrats decrying this war are the same who supported all the others, when a president had a “D” next to their name. Their voices for “Peace!,” when they war on their own unborn children, cannot be taken seriously.
There is blame enough to go around for everyone, and not just the politicians. Our collective opinions, indifference or misguided actions are all part of the equation. I only wish Donald Trump was not running against himself. His campaign promises to END wars, not begin new ones, garnered him support. That he has suffered the murderous attempts of the Deep State to discredit and kill him, is obvious. This fact is likely what is causing him to abandon his more worthy former principles, and act recklessly while he still possesses the Ring of Power.
Dictators can do a lot of good, and it is precisely those accomplishments that cement confidence, loyalty and trust, in at least a portion of the citizenry. His efforts regarding illegal immigration are perfectly constitutional. The mess created by the Democrats could only result in what we are watching unfold today in socialistic American cities.
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But we should not forget what fallen human nature does to our souls when power becomes absolute. We are spiritual beings, too. The temptations of power are relentless, and the imagined good outcomes of misguided leadership often backfire into a nightmare.
God cannot be for and against the same thing. If an oath of office means anything, all elected politicians are swearing before the Almighty and Omniscient God, that they will obey the restraints of power imposed on them by the Constitution. That the violations have been ongoing for many generations, and by all parties, does not make it excusable.
God’s laws in the Ten Commandments cannot change, yet mankind has discovered myriad ways to temporize on those Commandments. Since all of us are sinners, we all have done this. Is it surprising, then, when our leaders, and their supporters in the citizenry, do anything different with the Constitution?
World War V – call it Number III if you like – will likely not follow the hoped-for script, and is why our prayer life, and our personal repentance, is where our true Hope resides.
The views expressed here are those of the author.
