Parsing War in a Time of Indolence

Bill Clinton's "Depends on what the meaning of 'is' is" keeps coming back on us, as we divide language from reality, especially when it comes to the war in Iraq. Clinton's legion of defenders believe that language is shapes reality. This is why Oprah tells her followers that she strives to to achieve the highest level of "consciousness." In our time it is no longer how we live or live in relation to others, but within our own minds. Our legions of fighting men, however, can't seem to parse their way through IED's or bullets of Iranian supplied Swiss sniper rifles. This language thing divides us. There are those who live the eyries of great cities and in the ivory towers of Academe, who wouldn't survive a day of the working man, but they think that terrorists are rational while George Bush is an evil fool. Yet the fool Democrats devoid of solutions now want complete withdrawl, for the sake of domestic politcs. When questioned about the bloodbath to follow, they fume that anyone question their patriotism. The public unaccustommed to rhetorical and logical fallacies, miss the schools of redherrings that spew forth from Democratic leaders and their sychophants in the establishment media. If there is any blame to be levied on the President, it is that he believed that we could have both guns and butter. Now that we are 5 years into the war and 4 years into a tremendous economic boom, the guns are rusting and the butter supply will inevitably go through its business cycle.

Larry the Cable Guy and Clash of Cultures

We are now five years into what the Pentagon, informally, calls the "Long War". Religious wars it seems have a tendency to be long. Multi-generational war is not uncommon. Ideological wars by comparison are shorter but far more deadly. Our situation with terroism is unique. The "sides", yet it is the smaller faction that attacks. A mean little "David" still makes us mad. All said and done we are at war and our enemy hopes to storm heaven with a suicide vest.

Given our tendency to want things done yesterday, Americans have demonstrated a stoicism in this war beyond the calculation of Al-Queda and even my cynical self. Bush, did not as Reagan did in Lebanon or Clinton did in Somalia , walk away after taking a lickin'. The military wisdom that once had the luxuary of choosing the terrain, as better place to fight seems no longer relevant. Terrorists are hard to find, but now where the enemy is, they are in Iraq.


We are now settle into trench warfare, of sorts. Reports that we are slogging it out on Iraqi streets and Afghanistan's mountains elicits a yawn and but not protest. There is a wait and see. Even as daily newspapers and television reports crassly publish full color photos of our war dead, accompanied by a narrative of a family shattered grief, Americans by and large have not gone into Cindysheehanish hysterics for immediate withdrawl. It seems we are made of sterner stuff than the media elites whould have us think. It seems unavoidable that to read news of brave dying young would tug on our emotions. What is also unavoidable is a conclusion that the news media seeks to influence public opinion against the war, by typifying the sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors and marines, as meaningless. "So young, what a waste." The very idea of a "soldiers' duty, musch less a citizens duty escapes the musing of the media elites.

Still, again given the 24/7 media carnage o'rama, endless anti-war polls and handwringing lamentations of the President's political opponents, wait and see still holds. Is there a stoicism in realization that we must stand firm against our enemies.?



If there is where does this stoicism come from? Is it found only war? I'm not quiite sure but my theory is that this stoicism, is the stoicism of the common man. Larry the Cable Guy's "Git 'Er Done strangely seems appropriate. Getting the job done is what generations of people who have to work for a living, have to do. I realize that our "journalists"from cub reporter to talking head rarely talks with or knows the common man. They certainly don't see them in their restaurants or neighborhoods, but the common man and woman, are the people who do those "nuts and bolts" things of civilization. It's the same type of people who go into the mines, climb the electrical towers, patrol our streets, fight fires, drive trucks, punch cattle and fix our drainage. Where there is risk, these people are the ones who take it. They know no other way. There is no abstraction, our fighting men and women know this. They face up to the hazards of making a living and going to war. They're described in the old song , "we'll smoke , we''ll drink, we'll stand our ground and drink our mistresses' health a round"

Education as Panacea

The fact that publically funded education did not exist until one hundred years after our nations founding should tell us something. This along with the fact the most prestigious seats of educations at secondary, university and graduate levels are private should tell us even more. Private education it now seems trumps anything that government can muster, except perhaps those destined for gladitorial combat in professional sports.

My generation came to believe that education, and not virtue, was the most important commodity for purchase. It is for this reason that parents often work so hard to put children "through school." In return large numbers of my generation heap scorn upon their parents by not providing grand children, which is what those parents really wanted in the first place.