My CMS The View from a New City

Yesterday I was discouraged, partly from the general effects of getting older, but partly from scrolling through the internet and seeing how “sinners ways prosper.” Then last night, my wife and I read the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which among other amazing revelations, lists how the Lord will handle the unrepentant sinners. One element of faith is to realize that punishing sinners is not my job. I realized once again something I learned though my years practicing law; that educating jerks (teaching them that they are jerks) is a waste of time and resources.

In the middle of the night I asked AI whether the people of Missouri suffered in the civil war and got in response a very long narration of this answer: “Yes, the people of Missouri suffered intensely and in a variety of ways during the Civil War.”

Pete Hegseth said this about the motive for renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War: “We are going to go on offense, not just on defense; maximum lethality, not tepid legality; violent effect, not politically correct; we’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.” (August 6, 2025)

I served in the Vietnam War as an infantry lieutenant, advising the Vietnamese Regional Force, Popular Force units in 1970-71. One day, my sergeant and I were called to a village in our district. As we approached the village in our Jeep, we saw a Huey helicopter idling on the road next to the village. Just as we arrived, we saw a captain, with his wide-brimmed hat (which you would recognize if you ever saw the movie Apocalypse Now), running out of the village with both hands outstretched carrying a limp, bloodied and battered baby, tears streaming down his face. He jumped into the Huey and they took off.

An operation had been under way to attack a suspected Viet Cong site along a stream running next to the village. A helicopter gunship had been called to shoot grenades into the suspected location. As the gunship passed over the village, a grenade round fell short, landing in one of the huts and exploding. I never learned whether the captain succeeded in getting the child to the hospital in time to save its life, but I am proud to say I served with him and other soldiers I knew who served with care and humanity.

War policy should not be set by those whose concept of war comes only from their experience in the media. American policy should not be set by people with no humanity.