New York Left Wing Times Article

As a teenager during WWII, I was privileged to be in frequent contact with a wonderful man. My half brother’s grandfather was Don Hoopes, the managing editor of the Marshalltown Times-Republican and then president of the Iowa Daily Press Association. During that time, we spent many hours together and I was fascinated by both his vocation and his ability to extract bass from a tiny lake where the family had a cabin. Since I delivered the Des Moines Register he often joked that we newspaper guys had to stick together. To elevate my importance, he said that without me, the editor’s work would never reach the public. He also shared much inside information about the business and the responsibilities of his position. As a consequence, I grew up with a tremendous respect for him and the fourth estate in general.

I now recognize that a regular feature of the Times-Republican is now virtually absent from most daily papers. Their corrections notice was on the front page, below the fold. Any errors or omissions were dealt with and enjoyed the same prominence as the original story. The rule in modern papers today is to publish their rare mea culpas on page 18a. I found this impressive as a child and as a man, a vital component of reporting the truth. We all make mistakes regardless of our most careful efforts but corrections are not consistent with the arrogant self-interest that most editors have today.

He was also a man who, as editorial writer, was scrupulously fair. In private, his politics were readily apparent; in public offerings he made every effort to cloak his individual opinions. No story passed his desk without fairness and a full presentation of all the facts which might color the reader’s mind. Fifty years before Fox News seized it, he proclaimed the slogan “we report, you decide.” Despite offers from larger papers, he preferred to serve the community he called home.

This recap of a man’s life and his influence on a boy was prompted by a recent objection to an article in the New York Times. The suggested claim is that veterans of the Iraq War are involved in an inordinate number of violent crimes once they rejoin the populace at large. “Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles" is the name of the article and one click will put you in touch with this slander.

Of the 749,932 discharges (all branches) through 2007, 121 homicide cases have been processed. This includes not only premeditated murder, but also negligent death (manslaughter) and some involving self-defense. This indicates a rate of 16.1 per 100,000 for the entire six year period. The total number of active duty and discharged personnel is more than 1.5 million giving us a rate of 1.34 incidents per 100,000 per year! So what would the rate of the general population in the same age bracket be? According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, in white males, age 18 to 24 years the rate was 20 per 100,000. To repeat the comparison that would be 1.34 for Iraq veterans vs. 20 for the general population in the same age bracket.

It took nine reporters and 6300 words to compile this hogwash. Apparently there was not a pencil and the back of an envelope among them to crunch the numbers. If this article proves anything, it would be that our fine fighting men (there was only one woman among the offenders) have a far better grasp of living peaceful and disciplined lives once home from the carnage that is war, than their counterparts in civilian life.

Little mention is made in the article about the role of resistance to gang activity, drugs and alcohol as causative effects. Some also reacted to unfaithfulness of wives and girl friends in their absence, although not a valid reason for murder, certainly a significant contributing factor. One of the 121 individuals shot a man who had sexually abused his stepson, hardly a result of his service in Iraq. All in all, the piece seemed more dedicated to the defamation of our troops than to actual fact filled reportage of a problem. To intentionally defame the military in time of war is in my mind a vile and unconscionable act. To further degrade a publication with a noble history, while expected, only adds to the crime. The New York Times has accomplished this by adding to their agenda driven and bias reporting of this story.

The saddest aspect of the whole affair is that those whom the Times choose to diminish are those who fight and die to protect their right to publish such drivel. Why then should this concern us as Christians? We should avoid the habit, and it does become a habit, of accepting as truth every pronouncement from the minds of men. Unlike the Times, “Zion Beckons” welcomes comments and disagreement. Most true Christian publications actively solicit you to detect any variation from the straight and narrow presentation. We all recognize the frailties of men and encourage correction.

Provided with our God given access to Him for confirmation of that which we question, we have little excuse not to recognize truth. This should be on our minds every time we see a questionable assertion. Be it in national affairs or local church assemblies it is necessary to accept God’s promise and check with Him. In addition, once a source proves to be the purveyor of falsehood, why consult them in the first place?

“All the news that’s fit to print.”

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon