DISQUS

Ren_D · 3 months ago

"we just did what we could to get the right things done within our legitimate power."

America is best when we are like this; when we reflect our most iconic heroes: cowboys. Sure, the idea of the cowboy is idealized, but its essence is the greatness of America: hero cowboys didn't think they were the best or the greatest; they just knew what was right and got it done. I think something we've lost (but are regaining) is the respect for the picture that the Western gives us. A humble man doing his best to make sure what's right gets done. There's a reason why the Cowboy is the iconic American image.

I will say that the use of the term "legitimate" can make things hazy and convoluted. After all, isn't so much of the debate about what "legitimate power" is? Perhaps at issue here (and the heart of fear-based politics) is a non-understanding of this principle.

Dale Fincher · 3 months ago

Ren_D, I like the Westerns too.

"Legitimate" is a hazy word, I agree. But maybe by letting it be hazy, it will allow us to keep asking the questions on what we should do. The Iraqi war was not "legitimate," for example, on a Just War level as they were not connected to the people that attacked us on 9/11 nor had a delivery system that threatened us nor our allies. I had a professor who spelled it in a Just War class even before we went to Iraq. We were duped as an American people and then congratulated one another that the Iraqi people were better off anyway. But it was a mess of a war, not only to fight, but to declare.

When I lived in Canada, they pointed out that the American military are often portrayed as brutal, animals, thirsty for blood. While I think they got some of this from Hollywood, some of Hollywood reflects real life. Many soldiers are glad to kill the enemy rather than be grieved that they had to pull the trigger to begin with. I do not mean to say they are all this way, by no means. Many good men and women are watchdogs for our shores. But I have been in conversations with soldiers who cannot wait to get to the field and do some killing. And that attitude is a far cry from the soldiers who were humbled over the ugliness of an era ago.

Jonalyn Fincher · 3 months ago

Really really good article. I particularly liked the point about Fascism being all pomp and bravado and so the WW2 survivors were working to avoid all that smacked of Nazi pride.

Dale Fincher · 3 months ago

I thought that was interesting too... and a warning for us that the virtues are never weak, even in wartime.

amysondova · 3 months ago

"It’s funny how the nation’s mood was at its most humble when its actual achievements were at their most extraordinary."

Great quote. Thanks for sharing the article.

Mdc25 · 3 months ago

Brings me back to a pre-WWII quote:

"There is no big man who has not felt small. Some men never feel small; but these are the few men who are."