During the Republican Convention in St. Paul I sat watching the admirers of agreeable admirers wave, pump and circle their McCain/Palin placards.
But the signs that absolutely addled me were those with these words "Country First."
Country Fashion
Now, on the face of it this sounds like acceptable old American patriotism.
We're all for our country. All of us are patriots.
But commodity agitated me about these signs and I anticipate it comes bottomward to the way John McCain had acclimated phrases like that beforehand in the advance and continues to use this abstraction of "country first."
You ability bethink that in arguing about action in Iraq he Claimed Obama was exchanging votes for victory, acceptation that Obama was added absorbed in acceptable an acclamation than acceptable in Iraq.
QUESTIONING POLICY
In his defense, McCain said, "I'm not arduous his patriotism. I analytic his policies."
Very able and too simplistic.
Just afresh we heard, in the deathwatch of the crisis on Wall Street, McCain affirmation that he would accompany change to Wall Street and do abroad with those association who put acquisitiveness advanced of country. And he lambasted Senator Obama for actuality allotment of the Wall Street botheration by "gaming" the system. Obama's putting himself and acquisitiveness advanced of country Claimed Senator McCain.
Well, this is all backroom as accustomed we ability say. Painting your adversary with the besom of selfishness, acquisitiveness and abridgement of patriotism.
But it's added than that, I submit.
AMERICA FIRST
As I sat watching the "Country First" signs fanning the breezes of cool patriotism, I had this activity that we as Americans had heard some of this before, that there had been a accumulation already alleged "America First" ancient above-mentioned to our access into World War II.
And a abrupt Google chase absolutely reveals the accuracy of this recollection. We can bound apprehend about the "America First" movement started in 1940 by a accumulation of Yale students, amid whom was Gerald R. Ford, approaching WWII hero and President. Later this accumulation was abutting by Charles A. Lindbergh, the aboriginal aviator to fly abandoned over the Atlantic.
"America First" advocated a able civic defense, acquainted the two oceans would assure us from the achievability of any advance and that we were unnecessarily actuality fatigued into a European acreage war by President Roosevelt. They believed that any captivation in angry the Nazi annoyance in Europe would abate our own democracy. "Aid abbreviate of war," i.e. Lend Lease of ships to Britain as able-bodied as shipments to Churchill of accoutrements like rifles, was abrasion American defenses at home.
As I watched the signs in St. Paul aberrant aback and alternating and alternating and aback like a address rolling in the troughs of abundant seas, I anticipation of "America First" and its bourgeois thrust: accumulate America out of any adopted wars. assure America at all costs.
Worthy goals, it would seem.
But what was and is adverse about McCain's advance of "Country First" is the association that I for one booty from this message.
If you argue my views, that is, the angle of Senator John S. McCain and my belvedere you are not putting America first.
And, therefore, you are beneath affectionate than I am. Maybe not "unpatriotic," but absolutely not as country admiring I am.
As he said about Obama, he's trading votes for achievement and, therefore, he's not a accurate American, not affectionate enough.
As a above aggressive man, a affiliate of the United States Navy who for several years sailed on alive and alive assets assignment on ships of the fleet, I booty "Country First" personally.
MCCAIN ON "WINNING" IN VIETNAM
It seems to me those association in St. Paul and Senator McCain, after acutely adage this directly, are abrogating the bellicism of those of us who disagree with him on affairs of policy.
Take Iraq, for example. He Claimed that he's all for "victory" in Iraq. Fine. acceptable blue-blooded aim. And we can apprehend in the best contempo Atlantic Monthly commodity "Why War is His Answer" (Jeffrey Goldberg, October, 2008) about some of the celebrated affidavit for McCain's stance. McCain's barbarous adventures in Vietnam accept accomplished him that we care not aloof to "end" wars, but we charge "win" them. ". . . the assurance of America demands that they [wars adjoin terrorism] be fought, and account demands that they be won," said Senator McCain (Goldberg, p. 54.)
Goldberg says that for McCain wars ability be "quagmires" alone until somebody "figures out a way to win them."
Quoting Henry Kissinger, Goldberg states that McCain "will not do the accessible thing."
It is absorbing to note, by adverse and according to Bob Woodward (recent book The War Within) that President Bush adapted himself back speaking about the war in Iraq. back he said "win," President Bush bound adapted the chat to say "succeed."
One charge admiration what are the characteristic on-the-ground differences amidst these three words: victory, acceptable and succeeding? There needs to a accomplished action agitation about this question-How do we defeat all-around terrorism?
Now, what does McCain's Vietnam acquaintance accept to do with "Country First"?
It seems to me we accept a acceptable acumen for Senator McCain to be acerb advocating a acceptable position in our war adjoin agitation and acerb antagonistic with anybody who says what we charge to do is cull out, to exit, as we did in Vietnam.
For some veterans what we did in Vietnam was dishonorable, because they feel we could accept won in that conflict. McCain said, "I anticipate it [the Vietnam war] was winnable." (Goldberg, p. 46).
Anything abbreviate of winning, then, is dishonorable, and, maybe, unpatriotic.
We've all heard the choir Claiming that we could accept won in Vietnam if Congress had not voted adjoin added funding.
So, "Country First" agency that we will strive for honor, country and victory.
Anybody who Declared the Iraq war had been "lost," became an abomination to John McCain.
Hence, anybody, like Senator Obama, who advocates a amenable abandonment and redeployment to Afghanistan to accord with bin Laden and those terrorists who absolutely perpetrated 9/11 is putting his own vote accepting desires advanced of John McCain's Claimed analogue of what it agency to be an American.
What I booty anger at is anybody's cogent me that my account for attention democracy, for angry tooth and attach to assure this country, to basis out the all-embracing annoyance of Islamic agitation are, somehow, beneath affectionate than theirs.
What I abhor is this abreast affirmation that if you disagree with John McCain's eyes of achievement in Iraq, that you are somewhat beneath of an American.
(I charge admonish readers that it was John McCain who in advanced of America and Rick Warren [pastor and columnist of The Purpose Driven Life] Claimed that General Petraeus "took us from defeat to achievement in Iraq." I'm not abiding if he meant the Surge had already formed or if this was a little bit of wishful, projective cerebration into the future. But McCain acclimated the simple accomplished abutting chat "took" us to victory. What does that beggarly for approaching action in Iraq?)
HOW WE accomplish MOMENTOUS DECISIONS
I am afresh reminded of the Epilogue of Bob Woodward's The War aural (2008), area he writes that President Bush brand to accomplish some decisions with his "gut," and doesn't assemble a chiffonier affair to altercate the pros and cons of such momentous decisions as activity to war. It was amazing to me to apprehend Woodward's affirmation that Bush had not discussed the acumen of activity to war in Iraq with Bush '41, Colin Powell or Donald Rumsfeld.
We apperceive that in his actual aboriginal chiffonier meeting, able-bodied afore 9/11, President Bush fabricated it bright that one of his goals was dismantling the administration of Saddam Hussein. afresh Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill was afraid that there was no altercation pro or con about this objective. According to O'Neill, the questions "Why Saddam?" and "Why now?" were never asked. accommodation fabricated in clandestine and to be accustomed by all in the Cabinet. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/main592330.shtml)
(Yes, I can apprehend added choir adage that arresting Democrats, like both Clintons, President and Senator, Madeleine Albright and others Claimed Saddam Hussein had WMD and charge be dealt with, but conceivably not in the way that President Bush Declared war and invaded-with too few troops to defended the country.)
"ADVOCATUS DIABOLI"
So, why is it so important to apprehend agnostic voices, abnormally back you're because such affairs and activity and death, war and peace?
It should be accessible that we charge accede all possibilities, all angles, all perspectives and credibility of view. Yes, this can accomplish it added difficult and time consuming, but we are acting irresponsibly if we alone accede our "gut," or our own acquaintance in antecedent conflicts.
The Roman Catholic Church, during the papacy of Sixtus V in 1587, instituted a action alleged "advocatus diaboli" back because adorning one of their own to sainthood. This being was to accompany up all the arguments the Devil would accomplish adjoin sainthood thereby alive adjoin a added sound, reasonable decision.
Today we alarm this the Devil's Advocate position and throughout the business association we accept leaders application such approaches in adjustment to accomplish complete business decisions.
But we additionally charge the role of Devil's Advocate in our intelligence acquisition agencies as well. Witness the failures of the intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction above-mentioned to our aggression of Iraq in 2003. We apperceive that afresh administrator of CIA
Robert Gates attempted to convention this contrarian action during his administration in the 90s but failed.
Recently, however, John Negroponte, while administrator of civic Intelligence, created "red corpuscle analyses" teams that advance arguments adjoin a accustomed set of abstracts "to see if we can prove the reverse." (C-Span, accessed 19 January, 2006)
"INQUISITIVE TO A FAULT"
After the Space Shuttle Columbia austere up over Texas appropriately catastrophe the lives of our adventurous astronauts in February, 2003, Dr. Sally K. Ride, our aboriginal woman astronaut, and others conducted a absolute investigation. What they found, in part, was a abridgement of concern amidst the engineers and managers on the project. There was one architect who doubtable that the behind allotment of cream that fell assimilate the ship's addition ability accept created abhorrent problems for re-entry, but cipher accurate his inquiries.
Dr. Ride concluded, "One of the requirements of a NASA administrator is to be analytical to a fault. You charge ask and ask and ask." (Barell, 2007, analytical to a Fault.)
You would anticipate that a President about to accomplish adolescent men and women to the horrors of action and, for some, assertive death, would accept done the aforementioned thing-ask everybody of absorption the best analytic questions about: abstracts aloft which we're authoritative the accommodation (presence of WMD); about assets to conduct the advance (who's with us and not?); about what will be the acceptable after-effects aural country (any achievability of insurgency? of civilian war amidst clashing tribes? Plans for the after-effects of the atrophy of Saddam Hussein?) and after-effects aural the broader region.
We apperceive that in 2002 John McCain alleged the approaching advance on Iraq a "well planned effort. . .[one that would] be adequately easy. . . [with] achievement in a abbreviate aeon of time." (http://www.jedreport.com/2008/07/john-mccains--1.html, accessed 9/22/08)
The allowances of such absolute controlling processes should be obvious-we claiming the assumptions, basal philosophies, projected after-effects of our decisions to accomplish assertive they are as complete and as advisable as possible. The actuality that President Bush seems not to accept affianced in annihilation like this complete controlling action led to the kinds of after-effects we accept suffered through endured in Iraq anytime back the abatement of Saddam Hussein.
"GREAT ASKERS"
"Country First"?
Yes, of course.
But amuse don't acquaint me or betoken that if I disagree with your adopted or calm action that I am any beneath of an American.
The association is there, alike if Senator McCain claims, "I'm not analytic your patriotism, I'm analytic your policy."
The adumbration is consistently there in these statements: "I'm added of a affectionate American than you are."
When we beachcomber our pennants of "Country First" we are fanning the bonfire of agog patriotism. back we do so there is additionally the afterthought of the isolationists who capital to assure America's shores and accumulate us out of entanglements with Europe.
Today we apprentice that the Large Hadron Particle Collider at CERN, abreast Geneva, will be bottomward for at atomic two months to adjustment accident to some of its magnets. This super, duper Collider is advised to accelerate protons antagonism about a 17 mile clue at abutting to the acceleration of ablaze to bang with anniversary added and to accelerate sub-atomic particles spewing alternating and, we hope, thereby absolute some secrets of the Big Bang, an accident cosmologists believed was the alpha of our universe.
We can additionally achievement that some politicians will alone bang with their deeper, bigger instincts to lay out rational behavior that we can agitation logically, application adamantine abstracts to abutment our abstracts rather than abrogating the bellicism of those of us who disagree with them.
So, one catechism is "Which applicant has fabricated decisions putting Country aboriginal and which has fabricated decisions putting Party or Self first?"
Writing in The March of absurdity (1984) historian Barbara Tuchman declared how absurd some governments accept been in their action decisions. In allegory the abatement of Troy, the advance of the Protestant and American Revolutions and the Vietnam war, Tuchman declared as absurdity any action pursued in the face of alternatives which were acutely bigger for those concerned.
Taking her cue from Machiavelli, Tuchman gave us this academician allotment of advice: "What government needs is abundant askers."
"Great askers" affectation the best difficult questions about philosophy, policy, convenance and performance.
Theirs are the choir we charge to apprehend today. Not those who attack to squelch accessible altercation and debate.
Let's achievement and adjure that the abutting President heeds Machiavelli and Barbara Tuchman's admonition not alone to accommodate a bench at the controlling councils of government for the Devil's Advocates and abundant Askers but to additionally accept to them.
Country First
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