.....In the aftermath of the last presidential election, Rebel Girl spent an inordinate amount of time staying up late, listening to the songs of the Spanish Civil war (Freiheit!), and sipping Greek Metaxa (five stars!)......It seemed to help.
.....This year, she's getting started early and has vowed healthier habits.
.....If you too feel the looming doom, she suggests brewing large mugs of Redbush Chai tea (resist the sweetener!) and reading George Orwell. He always helps.
.....Today's reading is from his essay "The Lion and the Unicorn," published in 1941. An excerpt (bolded phrases are Reb's, of course):
"Almost entirely we are governed by the rich, and by people who step into positions of command by right of birth. Few if any of these people are consciously treacherous, some of them are not even fools, but as a class they are quite incapable of leading us to victory. They could not do it, even if their material interests did not constantly trip them up. As I pointed out earlier, they have been artificially stupefied. Quite apart from anything else, the rule of money sees to it that we shall be governed largely by the old - that is, by people utterly unable to grasp what age they are living in or what enemy they are fighting. Nothing was more desolating at the beginning of this war [WW II] than the way in which the whole of the older generation conspired to pretend that it was the war of 1914-18 over again. All the old duds were back on the job, twenty years older, with the skull plainer in their faces… It was like a tea-party of ghosts. And that state of affairs has barely altered. The shock of disaster brought a few able men like Bevin to the front, but in general we are still commanded by people who managed to live through the years 1931-9 without even discovering that Hitler was dangerous. A generation of the unteachable is hanging upon us like a necklace of corpses."
24 comments:
Thank you, Rebel Girl; George Orwell, indeed, always helps. I'll have to investigate this Metaxa (Mextaxa?) stuff--I could have really used it last time around.
Reb,
You know how to dice it up, as always. The question is: who isn't rich in this election? From where I sit, no one.
Interesting you bring up that Orwell quote regarding his noting of his generations ignoring the growth of the Hitler problem (Godwin's Law strikes again!) and the West's ignorance of its dangers.
At least our generation dealt with the Sadaam problem. Now anyone could argue that we mucked things up over there (in countless ways), but we did confront it. The world is safer without Sadaam.
Perhaps we have learned something from history.
Clever, Torabora, how you missed the point. Maybe you also missed the photos of Rummy shaking hands with our latest "Hitler"? And how much safer would the world be without Bush?
Comparing Hitler to Hussein is just plain disingenuous (and that's a euphemism).
Have you no shame, TB? At long last, have you no shame?
Actually, the world is no safer without Saddam. The irony is that we are less safe now. He was a secular leader who kept the fundamentalists, such as the Taliban and al Qaeda, at bay. Al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq until after we invaded. We all know that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11 and didn't have weapons of mass destruction. The sanctions were working. He wasn't a threat to us.
Saddaam would not comply with the UN sanctions imposed on him after Gulf War I. How long could we keep up the charade? He continually threatened and played chicken with the terms of the armistice. Baghdad had a rogues gallery of terrorists on R&R. Something had to give, and after 9/11, he had to go. I know not in YOUR mind but YOU weren't smart enough to steal the Florida election and be in charge (sorry...in little tiny letters). When you don't like it....you Dissent! And I, for one, listen and appreciate such points of view.
You might remember Saddaams final straw was kicking out the UN weapon inspectors.
The famous Rummy/Saddaam photo was taken when both men were early into their respective ascendancy. The Iraq/Iran war was on and after the Iranian hostage crises our government was looking at Saddaam as a bulwark against them. Making friends with despots is stupid but Rummy was just a paid negotiator then. Then, he was carrying out the stupid policy of his government, not making it. Apparently he didn't learn enough in his tutelage either. He proved to be a master at making war and a failure at ending war.
As far as the comparison goes we'll never know whether Saddaam could have become another Hitler because we removed that possibility. He should have been deposed after Gulf War I just as Hitler should have been deposed after the occupation of the Rhineland or at most Czechoslovakia! Hitler would never have been ....well Hitler! Same actually went as far as Saddaam goes...but who knows?
In a perfect world this whole insane region would be fenced off into a human game preserve (no hunting allowed !!). However the rest of the world has an equally insane desire for the oil there that represents a treasure of $Trillions.
Until the West and the rest of the oil hungry nations quit desiring this goddamn oil this clash of civilizations will continue. The regions predominate religious faith proclaims a creed of converting or killing infidels and we are giving them money and a war to do just that. That's friggin' nuts!
As far as a safer world without Bush goes....dream on. The nuclear genie is out of the bottle and sooner or later, no matter who is President, some city somewhere is going to get blasted. Then 9/11 will be a distant tragedy.
Things don't go away because you imagine them away. We need a substitute for oil. I don't believe one is near and just picked up 200 shares of some drilling stocks.
And so it goes....sadly.
You people are condescendingly arrogant as you seemingly evaluate the safety of the world while sitting on your fat asses drinking your Café Lattés in your safe haven campuses. How many of you have actually sacrificed or are willing to sacrifice for the freedom of other nations or even for your own freedom? I wager to say no one. Cowards, the lot of you.
6:32 careful now. I spent nearly 8 years defending all of us...all the Dissenters and even you. Something I learned there was that not all of us are cut out for being on the line. Those that aren't are liabilities to those of us that are on the wall. Those that choose to stay behind will never know. Let it be.
What would George Orwell do?
Orwell describes the Bushies and their ilk perfectly!
Pray tell, torabora. So enlighten us as to where and when you put forth selfless sacrifice and service for freedom. Was it in a combat zone? Did you feel the heat of battle? Have you engaged an enemy to liberate a people in a foreign land from oppression and sufferring? Please tell us your story.
9:02 pretentious, aren't you?
Yes I am, torbora, and your silence to my questions is deafening.
6:33 It's enough for me to know that I served my country. That's no bad on anyone who chose not to, even you.
Do people still read Orwell?
I still am trying to understand the comparison of SH to Hitler--did he, for example, have a plethora of Panzers and a well trained military sufficient to invade and conquer?
"careful now. I spent nearly 8 years defending all of us...all the Dissenters and even you."
"It's enough for me to know that I served my country."
Me think you're an armchair general and a fraud!
11:23 I am not now nor have I ever been an "armchair general" or general of any stripe. I'm just a veteran of the US military and a student of History.
Is your problem that you can't believe a DtB reader could even BE a vet?
There aren't alot of veterans at the college where I work. They work out to something less than the national norm, which is about 10% of the males. We have a majority female population and I know of no female vets. The current interim President is a 10 year vet. My department has three vets.
As far as fraud goes, I take people at their word until I have reason to believe otherwise. I've seem my share of "ex-military" "war heroes" who say they were SEALs or CIA spooks or whatever. Those folks show derangement in other facets of their lives and are quick to regale any listeners of their "deeds". That's their bad, not mine.
I'm really sorry for your problem. If it really bugs you I can show you photos and my honorable discharge if you ever get up to Northeastern California. I don't get South of Yosemite. I go every Spring after Tioga Pass opens. Perhaps you could meet me there?
OK. Can we drop this now?
Good.
Torabora,
I wanted to let you know that I really admire the way you responded to 6:32. In other words you did not drop to 6:32's level yet you made your point with such wit and intelligence. I always enjoy your comments and observations on this blog. You add to the substance of conversations. Your writing skills are superb. Please continue to post here and I will continue to enjoy them.
Stop pandering, 6:23. You sound like Hillary Clinton.
And I expected an avoidance answer to my questions, torabora, so you didn't disappoint. Most who tout their service to make a point and then avoid answering direct questions about their service usually served as REMFS or not at all. I doubt you've ever been blooded in combat, whether it be on the field of battle or in some sleezy piss-tube licking slop chute. So, I hope you enjoy continuing as a student of history in your safe haven. Just stay the hell out of the way of the rest of us have the courage to make history by taking care of business.
Honneur et Fidélité
6:23 Je suis tres humilie. Merci!
8:54 Never "touted" anything Sir! I just made mention of my status as a vet. No big deal.
REMF? Nope...spent six months on the front lines of the near beginning of the GWOT (we didn't call it that then). No big deal, I just did what was asked of me.I never was in a HQ building.
Piss-tube licking slop chute duty?Never did any in boot. Spent 90 days mess duty at my first command...was always appreciative of those that kept the chow coming.
Never saluted anything over O-6. Said hello to a two-star once without saluting. All well and proper form too. Never had a conversation with anything over an O-3.
But you're really going to have to tighten your seat belt for this one 8:54. Put your coffee down so you don't spill it.
In my nearly eight years of service I never discharged or even held a functional weapon. I'm not a peacenik either. My government simply never told me to. I own rifles and pistols too but they stay oiled in my closet. Haven't fired a weapon in 15 years or so.
8:54 There is a universe of experiences out here in this fine nation of ours. I'm sorry they don't measure up against yours. What can we do to honor one such as yourself?
6:23 nailed it; I'll be the first to disagree with TB on many issues, but the nature of the discourse is excellent. Not so much for the O'Reilly clone.
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