Cassandra must have had trouble sleeping.

By The Armorer on April 16, 2008 | | Comments (10)

Go. Read. A suspension of contempt.

Share This Article:

Categories:

10 Comments

By Damian on April 16, 2008 11:37 AM
I was struggling yesterday to communicate to readers at The Castle why Rick Hillier is so important to the Canadian Forces. After reading Cassandra's piece, it's been clarified in my own mind. Hillier has made being a soldier, sailor, or airman a point of pride again in our country, after a very long time when it wasn't. Oh, things aren't perfect - I'd guess CF members would love to have only the diminished level of public support that Cassandra bemoans in her piece. But it's so much better than it was. The men and women of your armed forces are a national treasure. I hope that, unlike your cousins north of the 49th, you never forget that. Because once you have, it's a struggle to get the population ever to relearn it again.
 
By kat-missouri on April 16, 2008 11:56 AM
Damien...we've been there awhile. OUr own "come to Jesus" moment happened in the eighties under Reagan when the military was again an important part of our national pride. But, it goes up and down, back and forth as the times change and the public focus is away from war. Each time it seems like we are struggling to maintain. For some strange reason, every time I read such notes from those who portray contempt and those who are angry about it, this one refrain keeps coming to mind, "Fall of the Roman Empire." Over and over. A professional, all volunteer force sounds great, but it is only a small portion of our society, allowing the rest to go on about their business with barely a blink or a nod. Which means they can express contempt for the occupation as if it were the lowest of occupations instead of the best. We are Rome in decline I sometimes think. Every citizen no longer carries the burden of defending the state or its ideas. They insisted on that some forty years ago. thus, the idea of carrying the burden of defense can be equated to the role of some "lesser" in society. And, like the Burgoise of Rome who had thought they could simply pay for that defense while showing contempt of the legionnaire, our own will be bewildered some day when there is no one to defend them from the Barbarians at the gate.
 
By fdcol63 on April 16, 2008 1:34 PM
" ... our own will be bewildered some day when there is no one to defend them from the Barbarians at the gate ..." But there will be others who will rejoice, for this has been their goal all along: The liberals who've controlled the teachers' unions, academia, journalism, and Hollywood whose primary goal has been to move us away from the trite and quaint system of nation-states toward "global citizenship" under the control of a "progressive" and "enlightened" world government that will protect the environment and re-distribute wealth from greedy corporations and individuals to "each according to his needs".
 
By John of Argghhh! on April 16, 2008 2:03 PM
...under the control of a "progressive" and "enlightened" world government that will protect the environment and re-distribute wealth from greedy corporations and individuals to "each according to his needs". ...and likely be unelected, but appointive, and largely unaccountable.
 
By kat-missouri on April 16, 2008 2:13 PM
...and likely be unelected, but appointive, and largely unaccountable.
Yes. Commissions. Human rights commissions that will not focus on human rights, but will instead punish people for pointing out that some people do not believe in actual equality and human rights. It will be bigotry, prejudice and hate speech. Oh...wait, that already happens.
 
By Cricket on April 16, 2008 2:33 PM
Appointed by whom? That would be power indeed.
 
By fdcol63 on April 16, 2008 2:33 PM
Justice would be seeing all these "useful idiots" actually living in the world that would result from their efforts. But I don't want to live in it, too, nor do I want to condemn our children to it.
 
By kat-missouri on April 16, 2008 3:31 PM
Me neither, so I keep bitterly clinging to my gun and bible, chanting over and over again, "This is my bible, this is my gun..." ;)
 
By John of Argghhh! on April 16, 2008 3:40 PM
Um, gee, Kat, you *sure* that's the image you were after?
 
By kat-missouri on April 16, 2008 5:03 PM
Well, iffen you're confused about what I'm clinging to, I'd say that's your own dirty mind at work. You obviously need to cling to your bible and pray some more since you got the whole gun thing down.