Meanwhile, violent fanatics have blown up a whole bunch of innocents in Europe. Short-term win for them; long-term? The EU has been something of a self-caricature of European politics but the current wave of islamic terrorism bids fair to transform it into something closer to the warlike empires and alliances of the continent's past.
I was pretty groggy yesterday morning when TV coverage of the horror hit full, lower-lip-quivering intensity. It's easy to mistake this glurge for the official response, or to assume the pampered darlings on the screen somehow represent the feelings of an entire people. Don't count on it. Western Civilization will fight like a cornered rat once it has to -- and rarely even one second earlier. The clock is ticking. The ghosts of battles fought within living memory are stirring.
(The clock is ticking on my cold, too. I
feel felt much better this morning that yesterday -- which only serves to remind me how far I have yet to go. One step at a time! ETA: One step
back, maybe. Got in the shower -- and ran out of steam. Sinuses overflowing, no energy, yeech.)
4 comments:
" It's easy to mistake this glurge for the official response, or to assume the pampered darlings on the screen somehow represent the feelings of an entire people. Don't count on it. Western Civilization will fight like a cornered rat once it has to -- and rarely even one second earlier. The clock is ticking. The ghosts of battles fought within living memory are stirring."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D2SHNqkjbY&feature=youtu.be&t=87
Americans really don't like to fight, because most of our ancestors fled to this country to get away from incessant warfare (and the crushing poverty that accompanied it). That's what makes us so dangerous when we finally get around to deciding we have to fire up the ol' war machine. As Dad used to say about his mid-Forties European tour, "None of us wanted to be there, and the intent was to get it over with as fast as we could and come home."
The rest of Western Civilization? Not so sure about that, anymore. Their "zero to jackboots" time seems to have increased quite a bit since 1945.
Can't help wondering if an attack on Brussels will result in the EU stepping up, or finally collapsing.
It's a win for Europe either way, if you ask me.
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