Evangelical critics blamed Vietnam and Watergate for the loss of American heroes

Evidence

The transformation probably had something to do with Vietnam or Watergate, Metaxas mused. Until Vietnam, wars were seen as worth fighting and patriotic Americans dutifully defended the country and its freedoms. Vietnam changed all that. “Ditto with Watergate,” which presented us with a president acting not at all presidential. Since that time, people had focused on the negative when it came to famous people, and it was hard to have heroes in a climate like that. Making matters worse, Americans had extended this critique back through history. No longer heralded as a selfless and heroic Founding Father, George Washington was denounced as a wealthy landowner and hypocritical slave owner. Instead of celebrating Christopher Columbus as the “intrepid visionary” he was, Americans now pilloried the explorer as a murderer of indigenous peoples. Metaxas conceded that “idol worship” wasn’t a good thing, but being “overly critical” of good men could also be incredibly destructive. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 547

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader argument that white evangelicalism narrates history as decline from a mythic heroic past, echoing themes in the earlier chapters about defensive posture and cultural grievance. — connects to: Vietnam polarized evangelicals against mainstream America toward greater militarism — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 118; Vietnam’s failure was read by evangelicals as a crisis of American manhood — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 122; Evangelical leaders minimized Vietnam atrocities and framed soldiers as Christian champions — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 115 (+5 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Vietnam polarized evangelicals against mainstream America toward greater militarism — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 118; Vietnam’s failure was read by evangelicals as a crisis of American manhood — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 122; Evangelical leaders minimized Vietnam atrocities and framed soldiers as Christian champions — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 115 (+5 more)