Getting the Facts

I am a great believer in getting the facts before one makes a value judgment. No one has to have proof blue is one’s favorite color, for that is not a value judgment. But I recall quite a few years ago, when I taught senior English in high school, the debate raged over the idea that eighteen-year-olds should have the right to vote. The argument was, if an eighteen-year-old was old enough to fight in a war, he was old enough to vote. Some of my seniors were already eighteen, some became eighteen during the school year (some were only sixteen), and hardly a one of them was ready to carry the responsibility of wise decisions in the voting booth.

The fact they had not gathered for themselves was that during a war, the young enlistee is told exactly what to do, how to do it, how much time he has to do it, and the possible consequences if he did not do it. And the ones telling him were quite a bit over eighteen. Occasionally a hero has emerged when an officer in charge was killed and someone in the platoon had to start leading. At least, this sometimes happens in movies. It must happen in real combat too.

One of the most famous books to come out of World War II is To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy. Yes, the movie star, Audie Murphy. It is not for the squeamish, but is for those who like to get facts. Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of the war. He had been a farm boy, little in size, and when he joined the Army, he was 18 but looked younger. One officer called him Baby. He made several strategic decisions on his own which could have cost him his life. He was wounded at least twice but kept fighting.

Combat is much different today. The eighteen-year-old may be in a plane, and never actually see the victims that fall dead from this fly-over. But plenty of warriors are still fighting on the ground. But remember what Einstein predicted. One war ahead is to be fought with sticks and stones. One needs to learn how to make value judgments by first getting all the facts.

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