Let History be Your Guide
The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II.
The Germans achieved total surprise on the morning of 16 December 1944 due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance.
The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions, which grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces.
The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them.
The offensive was planned by the German forces with utmost secrecy. Intercepted communications indicating a major German offensive were not acted upon by the Allies.
The Germans' initial attack involved 406,000 men, 1,214 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns, and 4,224 artillery pieces. Between 67,200 and 125,000 of their men were killed, missing or wounded.
For the Americans, with 610,000 involved in the battle, 89,000 were casualties. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II. (Excerpted From Wikipedia)
It is important to understand the historical context of "The Battle of the Bulge". As contrasted with the D-Day landing at Normandy or the Battle for Iwo Jima in the Pacific, at the time of this battle, the outcome of World War 2 had been decided. Germany was doomed to defeat.
Although the Battle of the Bulge was a "last gasp" effort that would not alter the final outcome, there were thousands of unnecessary casualties because of Hitler's refusal to face reality.
Germany, although discredited and beaten, was still able to inflict serious damage to the Allied cause and postpone their final day of judgment.
As we review the Presidential election this week, do you see any historic parallels? I do.
Whereas this election showed a resurgence of the angry racist, misogynistic principles of the past, there is no doubt in my mind of the ultimate outcome of this struggle.
Yes, angry whites and southern Christians expressed their vote for a nostalgic America that never really existed - and this resulted in a sweeping Republican victory.
Think of the recent same-sex marriage court decisions. Like the hard-fought changes of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's, American's are now free to marry whichever gender they choose.
Demographics are destiny. If we are not already, we will soon be a "minority majority" country. There will be more brown and black and yellow Americans than there are white ones.
Also, the millennial generation is much less prone to church membership, so the political power of white, Christian America will continue to decline as their aging members move on to their final reward (or judgment- depending on your theology).
So, there is much cause for sorrow today. As in 1945, there were Gold-Star mothers who lost their sons in the Battle of the Bulge. They lost their sons in a battle that - although necessary to finally defeat evil - should have, could have been avoided.
But, their death was not in vain. Evil was vanquished and a new world order was born. The United Nations, NATO, the Marshall Plan - all rose out of the rubble of war.
So for us, let us also recommit to the cause of liberty and Justice. Yes, our battle is not over, but we know that the war will be won. There will be casualties and we cannot waver in our pursuit of Liberty and Justice.
So just to encourage you, here are some quotes from my hero, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for freedom.
The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Love trumps Hate. Always has. Always will.
dg
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