[Industrialblog,
March 29, 2004]
So how does it happen?
How does patriotism, honor and duty get beaten out of a culture until it's a minority viewpoint?
How did Europe turn so effete, moribund, and feckless in the face of terror?
I don't know the answer. My suspicion is this: betrayal. Patriotism, honor and duty are systematically betrayed by elites until those who have those characteristics feel used, alienated and disgusted. Many quietly continue in their duties. Others fall away, die off, and are replaced by a more cynical breed. At a certain point, the national mood tips toward cynicism, which they call sophistication.
In the American response to 9-11, there are the physical stakes — survival in the light of a ruthless enemy. There are also stakes concerning our way of life — will we continue to live as free as we have?
But there are also spiritual stakes. We have a large section of this country that is patriotic, honorable and dutiful. They have been betrayed more than once — most notably is Vietnam. A second was the hostage crisis in Iran, where Jimmah Carter allowed terrorists to seize control of one of our crucial allies. And a third was by GHWB, who stood by while Saddam Hussein slaughtered the Arab Shi'ites after Gulf War I.
A betrayal by our government following the worst foreign attack in our nation's history would be devastating. More and more patriots could think, "Why should I defend a nation that dithers when the duty is clear?" I admit I was afraid of a weak reaction from our leaders.
Many people I know feel we under-responded to 9-11 in Afghanistan, and that the best response would have been a retaliatory strike so massive that Afghanistan would serve as a glowing example of why not to knock down our buildings or attack our capital city. I found our reaction a little light, but I understand what Bush is trying to accomplish.
Still, the stakes are there. The stakes remain there. Europe — former world powers France, Germany and Spain in particular — stand as an example of what we could become. There are Europeans just like us, but they are alienated.
FWIW.
How did Europe turn so effete, moribund, and feckless in the face of terror?
I don't know the answer. My suspicion is this: betrayal. Patriotism, honor and duty are systematically betrayed by elites until those who have those characteristics feel used, alienated and disgusted. Many quietly continue in their duties. Others fall away, die off, and are replaced by a more cynical breed. At a certain point, the national mood tips toward cynicism, which they call sophistication.
In the American response to 9-11, there are the physical stakes — survival in the light of a ruthless enemy. There are also stakes concerning our way of life — will we continue to live as free as we have?
But there are also spiritual stakes. We have a large section of this country that is patriotic, honorable and dutiful. They have been betrayed more than once — most notably is Vietnam. A second was the hostage crisis in Iran, where Jimmah Carter allowed terrorists to seize control of one of our crucial allies. And a third was by GHWB, who stood by while Saddam Hussein slaughtered the Arab Shi'ites after Gulf War I.
A betrayal by our government following the worst foreign attack in our nation's history would be devastating. More and more patriots could think, "Why should I defend a nation that dithers when the duty is clear?" I admit I was afraid of a weak reaction from our leaders.
Many people I know feel we under-responded to 9-11 in Afghanistan, and that the best response would have been a retaliatory strike so massive that Afghanistan would serve as a glowing example of why not to knock down our buildings or attack our capital city. I found our reaction a little light, but I understand what Bush is trying to accomplish.
Still, the stakes are there. The stakes remain there. Europe — former world powers France, Germany and Spain in particular — stand as an example of what we could become. There are Europeans just like us, but they are alienated.
FWIW.
But then I thought better of it. Any atomic or nuclear weapon delivers a very nasty and long-term legacy of irradiation, fallout, firestorms (probably less of a concern in a desert area than in a forested or built-up area), particles thrown high into the atmosphere, lingering health problems, and other things. Our dear friends (and fellow nuclear powers) Pakistan, China, and Russia are probably a little too close to Afghanistan to be willing to sit back and watch the bombs fall in their neighbor's front yard.
Nuclear weapons are probably too horrible for laymen to understand. If physicists could stuff that genie back into the bottle, they would. Unfortunately, many people who don't understand them are now calling for the development of smaller, more "thinkable" weapons for everyday use. Once these weapons are developed, it will only be a matter of time before they find their way into the hands of another Tim McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, or Osama bin Laden.
Recommended reading: "At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War" by Thomas Reed, former Secretary Of The Air Force and a guy who was directly involved with all aspects of nuclear war. Disclaimer: I haven't read it myself, but I listened to a half-hour interview with him about it. You can find the interview here.
I'll check out the reading.
This downward spiral opens the door to a new set of ideals based on envy, hatred, and a need to expunge that feeling of self loathing. This leads to weeding out those who espouse reason, truth, etc.
Sounds like a replay of life in Germany in the Thirties. A chilling prospect.