The Week that Was
I guess I’m stuck in old TV shows today. It is hard to find that show's humor in this week that was. Although, it came up with some pretty black humor that outclasses what passes for late show versions. It was surgical and today we seem to fire for effect.
After I read The Runaway General piece, I wondered if they hadn’t thrown themselves on their swords for a reason. The reason being that the war was broke – not as much for having an active opponent but having a political faction that was breaking it further. Washington’s attempt to take down Karzai left our ambassador outside the graces of that government. The special envoy engaged in adding to the mess and became persona non grata in AFPAC overall.
That’d be satisfying to force and issue that needed a prompt fix. We attribute higher standards of action to ourselves and those we like. Politicians don’t meet our standards; media shares our disdain; but, we’re often as guilty of flaws as those we criticize. I think an article by Brooks in the NYT, puts all that in perspective.
We don’t seem to have the common color prejudices these days. Now the colors are red and blue. We’re all too close to it and opinionated about it. So, another article – this one from the other side of the pond – gave me something from the angle of how others see us.
I doubt many would call the General a gentle man. He’s a very committed individual. Those in the pay grade don’t suffer fools gently. But, every once in a while, they make themselves the one in the barrel.
In college, we had a term for what transpired. It was a borrass. We knew when one was needed and called it. In a borrass, we’d let our hair down and say impolite things about a variety of subjects. After the hangovers, we were able to forget our impolite ways and go back to the normal college stress. At least that was the goal. Every so often things could go too far. That seems what happened here.
So, we’ve thrown away a warrior when we need warriors. Maybe he did it to himself. Hell, he did do it to himself. But, the post mortem period showed the foolish, insecure features of others who felt the borrassing had gone to far. It has been a sad week that was.
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