"A Hobson's Choice of 'Front-running' Phonies"

[Emit]

A Hobson's Choice of "Front-running" Phonies

By Michael Murry

Wars tend produce three types of veterans. The first type feels bitter and betrayed and wants to spend the rest of his civilian life refighting the last cause, either because he lost or because he didn't think he won enough -- it doesn't really matter which. The second type just wants to forget the whole thing, good or bad, and get on with the normal life of home, family, work, community, et cetera. The third type wants to know why it all happened and devotes the rest of his life to finding an explanation in the hope that such an understanding might help him prevent another such tragedy from ever happening again.

John McCain belongs to the first type. I belong to the third type. John Kerry once belonged to the third type, but then he became one of the second type before considering that the job of President might require him to become one of the first type. McCain believes the wrong things for the wrong reasons. I believe the right things for the right reasons. Kerry doesn't know what to believe.

We veterans have our counterparts in the larger civilian population. By far the largest cohort, or Type 2 Ambivalents, never fought in any wars and would prefer to leave the entire subject of armed national belligerence up to someone else: by default, the Type 1 Orwellian Nationalists who think of little except war but who prefer to leave the actual fighting to someone lower down the socio-economic totem pole. The Type 3 Pacifists don't want anyone to fight in any wars, but their attempts to prevent the ones they clearly see coming usually fail. The Type 1 Orwellian Nationalists usually succeed in starting at least one war in every generation. The Type 2 Ambivalents passively allow this to happen without ever becoming aware -- of anything. The Type 3 Pacifists, although they rarely stop wars from starting, do occasionally help bring them to a somewhat earlier conclusion. Naturally, this good deed (or "syndrome") never goes unpunished by the Type 1 Orwellian Nationalists while the Type 2 Amibivalents, a.k.a., "The Nation of Sheep," a.k.a., "The Fate-Driven Herd," disinterestedly await their next fleecing.

~snip~

... With nothing much in the way of judgment or competence shaping up as the usual take-it-or-take-it Hobson's "choice" in a couple of years, I can only hope that (the first veteran type) "More Bombs and More Troops" John McCain never achieves his pathetic grasping after the commander-in-brief's silly little Napoleonic baton. Neither do I wish to see the Type 2 Ambivalent You-Know-Her ascend to "the top of the greasy pole" (as Disraeli called the summit of political office) because then the Type 1 Orwellian Nationalists and first type of embittered veteran will combine to bully her inexperienced self into bombing Sudanese pharmaceutical plants or the Chinese embassy in Belgrade again -- just like they did her Type 2 Ambivalent husband.

Actually, I think I've just analyzed myself right into a conviction that unless the third type of veteran and Type 3 Pacifists somehow get the better of the argument (an event rare in human history), that America might sink even lower into the Warfare Welfare and Makework Militarism that have now almost ruined the country beyond hope of recovery...

Cont'd: http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=66396

[jobycom]

1. Way too algebraic.

It boils people down into symbols in a formula, allowing them no room for complexity, change, or anything else that might resemble reality. You know the saying, no generalization is worth a damn, including this one.

[unblock]

2. whatever.

the only viable candidate must think exactly like ME ME ME!!!!!

:eyes:

[KoKo]

3. An interesting read....btw it was posted over at TPM in response to

Todd Gitlin's article for discussion, too. It was posted under another name there, though.

[Emit]

4. Thanks -- that provides some context as it was posted at TPM first, it appears

in response to the piece on McCain. But it is the same author, Michael Murry: http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/nov/26/straight_talk_about_straight_talk#comment-182403

Edited to add that he also has a website:

http://www.themisfortuneteller.com/

He posts a lot at PBS where I catch most of his poems and essays:
http://discussions.pbs.org/search.pbs?search_author=MichaelMurry

You can read some of his poems here: http://www.bewilderingstories.com/bios/murry_bio.html

One of his poems, "America the Dutiful," was featured at Sic Semper Tyrannus:

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2005/11/america_the_dut.html

[KoKo]

5. Thanks for his website and extra info.

I must have read the name wrong on the post on TPM running down the thread.