By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
MARCH 3, 2026 | Ever since I was in my first year of school, we were taught that the United States was a peaceful and fair nation that sought to do right. It did not seek to expand by attacking other nations.
Our nation’s history is steeped in the early settlers wanting to be free and independent, but they felt oppressed by the controlling British. These colonists were people willing to fight for independence.
As freedom was won on the battlefield, our people set up a nation ruled by law and found continuing spectacular growth. It was a far-flung nation between two giant oceans. We were virtually isolated, except for a nation to our north, and another to our south.
The United States defended its freedom in the War of 1812. Later conflicting factions brought our countrymen to attack one another, in a horrible civil war ending with neither side able to call a victory. But it polarized the slavery issue and brought new freedom to the enslaved population.
When in the early 20th Century, the Great War to end all wars broke out in Europe, Americans helped end that conflict. Our country wanted nothing more than world peace. But it was not to be.
I remember December 7, 1941. Living in Macon then, we learned of the second great war from hearing newsboys walking our neighborhood sidewalks, yelling “Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Japs bomb Pearl Harbor!”
Few of us knew where Pearl Harbor was. Soon we found ourselves in a two-front war, as we were fighting Germany too. We had to protect ourselves, doing it successfully, as World War II finally came to a close. Then for a short time, we enjoyed peace.
But other conflicts broke out. The United States tried to halt Communist aggression on the Korean peninsula, eventually coming to a stalemate. But at least the fighting stopped.
We tried to help another nation fight Communism, but failed in Vietnam. We also found our way at war against Iraq and Afghanistan, to little avail.
But in all our military activities, the United States has never sought to take land for ourselves and take freedom away from other peoples. After all, our very Constitution begs us to make peace work.
So last weekend, our nation attacked Iran. That grieves us, and makes life on earth less safe for all mankind. Our prayer is that this will be a short-lived war, and that the earth can return to a more peaceful time.
But it won’t be easy for the world to right itself overnight with our nation having an undisciplined bully as a leader. President Donald Trump seems to have no solid base and understanding from which to work, bouncing from one topic after another with no rhyme or reason.
Trump’s order to attack Iran has put America’s military personnel in grave danger; already, three American servicemen have been killed. The start of the war has killed Iran’s leader. That may harden that nation to resist this aggression. Naturally, the Iranian government has retaliated against us, striking our warships in the Middle East, killing the aforementioned three Americans.
It is obvious that this is President Trump’s war alone. He did not seek Congress’ approval of the start of the war, which is supposed to be the law. But Congress is so weak in resisting President Trump that much of America has lost its faith in Congress, especially with the do-nothing Republican side.
Our hope and prayer is that our nation can find ways of ending this new war, and regain the peace.
We ask God to send us a way to make our nation less aggressive and more peaceful, and return us to a good and fair nation, again.
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