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Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government.
Its first three words, "We The People", are the sum and substance of America. Those three words affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens.
However recent polls and surveys show that Americans are losing confidence in our institutions---all institutions.
A recent survey by the Reagan Forum has found that "We The People" are even losing confidence in our military--- Only 45% of Americans have a great deal of trust and confidence in our military.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says he's "spending time with the survey."
Be informed, not misled.
Institutions in decline.
July 14, 2021---less than six months ago, Gallup published a report showing American people are losing confidence in our major US institutions.
Gallup found 33% average confidence in 14 major institutions, down from 36% in 2020. They found that public schools and the medical systems were also down. Small businesses and the military enjoyed the most confidence, while Congress had the least of all our institutions.
That was less than six months ago.
Now, a new Reagan Forum survey has found that only 45% of Americans report having a great deal of confidence in our military. The survey calls it "alarming," noting that is down 25 points in the last three years. mostly since Gallup's survey five-and-a-half months ago.
Ironically, our Constitution clearly shows a major function of government is to be "defense."
Protecting America's citizens.
The Preamble to the Constitution says:
"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
We have seriously drifted from our Founder's original intent for the purpose of government.
We now pride ourselves as a world leader because we have open borders and our military and public schools have become a laboratory of social experimentation. We claim leadership in abortion "rights" and "pride" in pushing the homosexual agenda in both the military and the public classroom. And we punish Christians for expressing their Christian beliefs publicly in these institutions.
Does our leadership understand the gravity of this loss of confidence?
A fifth-grader knows that. The question is what are you going to do about it?
Baier was specifically asking that question---"Do you know" that "confidence in our military is down 25 points in 36 months"---exponentially down in the past 6 months?
So, what are you going to do about it?
According to the survey: "Almost a year into the Biden Administration and a few months removed from the Afghanistan withdrawal, the American people are equivocal and unsure about US global leadership and military capabilities."
On Monday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Austin wants "to spend more time with the survey" to find out "if there's some wisdom he can glean" from it.
"I mean he had a chance to look at it briefly before going to the Reagan National Defense Forum," Kirby said.
Kirby told the reporters, "And I think you heard him say that, certainly, the numbers represented in that survey are not going in the direction we would like to see them in terms of trust and confidence."
Continuing, he said,
"And so, the American public's perceptions of the United States military matters to us, not just from a recruiting perspective, although that's valid, but also from a representational perspective. And the trust and confidence of the American people, we continue to believe, is critically important to the institution."
I would think the "American people" would factor in somewhere in the "important" column.
Kirby then began to blame things and people:
"We are not immune to the kinds of polarization that we see out in the American society. I mean, we---come from America, what was out there in our society affects us, it absolutely does. So I think he wants to spend a little more time and try to see if there's some wisdom he can glean from the survey."
In his interview with Baier, Austin said, "I want to make sure that we don't lose sight of the fact that in 17 days, our forces evacuated 124,000 people from Afghanistan. 124,000."
The point that the brass seems to be missing is that America does have a pretty good memory. We also remember that the troops who were brave enough to speak out following the Afghanistan withdrawal defined chaos and confusion in the leadership.
And we remember that there are still American citizens in Afghanistan who wanted to leave and were standing on the promises that the president had made: "No American citizens who want out will be left behind."
The Reagan Forum survey shows that more than 6 in 10 (62%) of Americans say that, regardless of how they feel about the decision to withdraw the troops, they disapprove of the way the withdrawal was handled. This includes 83% of Republicans, 60% of Independents, and 42% of Democrats.
Overall about half--49%--- of Americans believe the chaos and confusion was the fault of President Biden.
I think most Americans strongly support our sons and daughters in the military. It's the leadership that is of great concern to "We the People."
Wrong people have been appointed to wrong positions for the wrong reasons.
Takeaway
We the American people have made some bad choices in our election process. We must, however, remember that ultimately God is in control.
Proverbs 3:26 says, "For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep they foot from being taken."
And Psalm 20:7 says, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Confident. Be Prayerful.