Published in the West Milford Messenger, September 25, 2018
Regarding the article on local veterans groups being concerned over the public's lack of understanding the meaning of Memorial Day and Veterans Day
I can only say look no further than the government school system.
The politicians and bureaucrats have a vested interest in keeping the general population in the dark on how we get involved in all these wars.
A century ago, U.S. Sen. Hiram Johnson of California observed that when a war comes, truth is the first casualty.
Our government has lied to us time and time again with regard to war and foreign policy and the mainstream media is pretty much a government echo chamber. If our leaders had followed the sage advice of the Republic's founders we would still have a noninterventionist foreign policy and this whole matter wouldn't be an issue.
Those who aren't afraid to face some unpleasant truths should get a copy of "The Failure of America's Foreign Wars" published by the Future of Freedom Foundation.
This book details the deceit and subterfuge used by the government to maneuver America into war for over 100 years.
There is nothing "patriotic "about blindly following our leaders without question whenever they decide to whip up hysteria over some foreign boogeyman that they themselves are usually responsible for in the first place.
Individual liberty and historical truth go hand in hand, now is the time for veterans and the public to start waking up.
Mark Richards