Some years back, while watching a news program, I was struck by a statement about our country’s war in Afghanistan.
Less than 1 percent of our (military) people are in that country fighting. The American people are not invested in this war.
I thought that was an interesting phrase. Invested in a war.
What exactly does that mean? and is there a message here for those of us in the ministry?
The statement meant the American people were not aware of what was going on in that Middle-Eastern country, which meant the struggle there felt remote and distant, and consequently were not supporting it as they would normally.
Most Americans had no personal stake in that war. When we’re unsure of the issues and uncertain of our goal, when we do not know anyone who is putting his/her life on the line there, and when we have no personal ties to anything, we are uninvested.
Who remembers the Second World War?
World War II movies, especially those made during the early 1940s, actually pulled American citizens together to support their fighting men and women.
In the 1940s, every town in America sent the cream of its youth to the fight. Every radio was tuned to the latest news. Gold stars shone from windows to say this family had lost a son in the service of his country. Dads and grandfathers followed developments with maps on the wall. Drives for metal, rubber, paper and even fats and grease were conducted in every community. Schoolchildren bought savings stamps and housewives contended with ration books.
It seemed that every citizen of this country was enlisted to fight that war. They were invested.