Balloon Warfare
Truth in a time of lies.
Two weeks ago, a Chinese spy balloon drifted from remote rural Canada into the United States. The balloon floated over Idaho and a U.S. missile base in Montana, then made its way to South Carolina, where it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean. Had it been a drone, a jet, or a large mechanical aircraft, perhaps the military response would have been stronger. It’s hard to say. Because it wasn’t any of those things. It was a balloon, outfitted, apparently with solar panels to help provide power for its journey.
To borrow a phrase from my grandmother for a moment: What in Sam Hill?
For those who don’t know, I have a little bit of history with China. In 2005, I took a 3-week trip to China, and the following year, I lived in Suzhou (pronounced Soo-joe) (a “small” city of 8 million) for about four months. I studied Mandarin for three of my four years in college. I double majored in Political Science and Asian Studies. I had it in mind to someday work for the State Department, but needless to say, my path took a hard left turn. Senior year, I had an opportunity to go back to China. But I turned it down. I was burned out. Eventually, Teach For America offered me an entry-level teaching position in Nashville.
Here is where I am supposed to say that I took that job and “never looked back.” But the reality is, I look back all the time.
In college, I cut index cards into fourths and wrote a Chinese character on one side and its English translation on the other. Over the years, I amassed nearly a thousand cards, which I hole-punched and kept on little rings to study in between classes. In Suzhou, the air was smoggy and gray, but sometimes the sun would come out, and the Taiwanese girl who lived in the dorm next door to mine invited me out for Korean food and once, took me home to meet her family who lived in a beautiful house in town. My roommate took me on a long journey back to her home, too. We took a bus and a boat and a moped, deep into the rural farmlands of China. Her family’s house had dirt floors. Her neighbors had never seen a white person before. They grabbed my hands and inspected my skin.
I could go on and on. But I won’t. Needless to say, since then, I’ve remained fascinated by the roller coaster of U.S.-China diplomatic relations.
The balloon is a perfect representation of the confusing threat that China represents. Like, really? A balloon? Here we are, in 2023, and the best we can do at spying on one another is by sending out balloons. And yet, by using a means of intelligence that seems absurd and non-hostile, China makes inroads, testing the boundaries of what it can get away with. Just because the balloon seems antiquated doesn’t mean that it is.
Chinese officials lied through their teeth — announcing the balloon had nothing to do with surveillance but was a weather balloon that had veered off course. This, of course, is the hallmark of the People’s Republic. Lies.
I’m not here to cry wolf, or to say that the United States is on the verge of a big conflagration with Xi Jin Ping. But circumstances in the last three years have raised the diplomatic temperature considerably. China currently provides drones to aid Russia in its illegal War in Ukraine. They’ve tested the limits of what a government can impose on its own people, through incredibly rigid so-called “Covid-Zero” policies that kept innocent citizens imprisoned in their own homes for months on end.
After the balloon popped, news agencies reported that NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) had adjusted its radar system, and discovered several other unidentified objects in U.S. airspace. What were those objects? Last Monday, President Biden said — vaguely and unconvincingly — that these objects were not “likely” surveillance and were possibly commercial or civilian aircraft. The answers are incomplete and unsatisfactory. In America, this country built on a tradition of bucking authority, partial answers won’t suffice. We deserve to know the truth. Not just the packaged truth, built to keep anxious civilians in their place. But the whole truth. Nothing but the truth.
That’s what makes us different. That’s what makes democracy attractive in the world. Not elections and party politics. But the truth.
Do our elected leaders believe we can handle the truth?
As I consider the strange turn of events, I can’t help but remember that today is President’s Day. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. He was born into a country on the verge of massive social and political upheaval. He was born into the middle of a story — a story that had to do with money and greed and globalism and trade and freedom and hope and bondage. His family owned slaves. He worked as a farmer. He served as a militiaman during the French and Indian War. He led a ragtag group of young men to battle against the world’s greatest empire. And won.
The story isn’t simple.
Our country isn’t perfect. We have a complex history, full of complex people, who have all tried with various degrees of success to make good on the promise that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among those rights? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
And America can still be a beacon of light in the world, so long as our elected leaders respect the constituents that handed them governing power in the first place. So long as they tell the truth.
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Recent Favorites
BOOK:
Refuse to be Done by Matt Bell. Currently in the hellish middle section of writing my second novel. This book by Matt Bell helps me feel slightly less crazy, and a bit more equipped to get through this challenging climb toward the finish. For fiction writers, it’s a must-read!
It’s One of Us by JT Ellison. Happy Publication Week to my dear friend, NYTimes Bestselling thriller author, JT Ellison on her 25th novel — It’s One of Us — which delves into the complexities of DNA, infertility, and of course… murder. Grab a copy. Trust me. You will not be disappointed!
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Shrinking (Apple TV). So, this show only has released five episodes, and I can’t quite decide if I like it or love it. Harrison Ford, Jason Seigal, and Jessica Williams star in this show about a team of therapists, all of whom are facing their own personal crises, while also trying to steer their clients toward mental health. There’s definitely some “miss” moments and crude elements. But I’m still in for the ride. Have you watched it?
READ:
”American Christianity is Due for A Revival” by Tim Keller. Here is a small taste of this incredible piece of writing from a wise teacher. “For two centuries, Americans’ religious devotion counterbalanced individualism with denunciations of self-centeredness and calls to love your neighbor. The Church demanded charity and compassion for the needy, it encouraged young people to confine sexual expression to marriage, and it encouraged spouses to stick to their vows. Bellah wrote that American individualism, now largely freed from the counterbalance of religion, is headed toward social fragmentation, economic inequality, family breakdown, and many other dysfunctions.” Worth the read!
One Last Thing:
Ben is finally sleeping. Hallelujah!
"And America can still be a beacon of light in the world, so long as our elected leaders respect the constituents that handed them governing power in the first place. So long as they tell the truth." Really loved this article. Captures the true spirit of America and its unique history.