Washington D.C.: City on a Hill or City in a Swamp?

Washington D.C.: City on a Hill or City in a Swamp?

U.S. Veteran Dispatch staff editorial
March/April/May 1997

Twenty years ago, the United States of America was mired in what President Jimmy Carter called a "malaise": this country had just witnessed a disastrous ending in Vietnam; the Leonid Brezhnev-led Soviet Union was on the march in eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and about to invade Afghanistan. Hostages were being held by Ayotollah Khoemeni; the American military, wallowing in its post-Vietnam syndrome, was incapable of even flying four rescue helicopters into the Iranian desert.

Politically here at home, the establishment was reeling from the Watergate scandals. A newly empowered media, fresh on the heels of toppling a president, was flexing its muscle. Economically, the country was in the throes of inflation, unemployment and high interest rates.

In the midst of this mess, presidential candidate Ronald Reagan repeatedly called on Americans to pull together to make this country " a shining city on a hill" - an example to all the world.

By the end of the 1980s, there was much to brag about: the American military was the clear superior to all its rivals; the American economy was thriving; Moscow was on the verge of collapse and the American people were once again feeling good about their national leaders.

It was in the midst of this national recovery that the cause of our POW/MIAs abandoned in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos was born. And it is to that cause that this newspaper is dedicated. Yes, we cover other mostly military related topics ranging from the social ramifications of the forced interjection of feminists and homosexuals into combat units; various military cover-ups ranging from Tail Hook to TWA flight 800; historical pieces going back to Civil War days and even light-hearted commentaries and cartoons. But make no mistake, we the staff of The U.S. Veteran Dispatch and you, our loyal readers, share one common belief: America can never be "whole" again until the truth about what happened to America's abandoned prisoners of war and missing in action is told.

In Washington D.C., the "truth" has become a foreign concept. Our "shining city" has instead become a "city in a swamp." Whether it is the disgusting spectacle of a White House "sold" to Red China for campaign cash or the equally appalling notion of a Beijing spy participating in top-secret meetings on American policy toward China and Vietnam, who can believe that we will ever get the truth from either our elected or appointed officials?

Let's face facts: today, Washington D.C., be it under Democratic or Republican leadership, will forever resist telling the truth about our POW/MIAs. Both parties are "dirty." Greed, ambition, guilt and arrogance have captured our capitol. Just as the victims of the arrogances of power in the Watergate era were the U.S. prisoners of war who didn't come home, so too today's ethical and moral collapse prevent any chance that our government will ever confess to its perfidy regarding this continuing abandonment and coverup.

We, the members of the POW/MIA movement, need to reach out to each other and rededicate ourselves to prying the truth, from the clutches of the morally and politically corrupt, about what happened to our men. Our government has abandoned both the POW/MIAs and the truth. But that does not mean we, too, have to follow that repugnant example.

No, indeed, we must fight for the truth, for until the truth is known about these brave heroes, America can never again be a "shining city on a hill."

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