Those of us who are watching the soap opera emanating from Capitol Hill these days regarding the bailout of the auto industry are at loggerheads as to what should be done. On the one hand I believe that the damage done to our already wrecked economy by allowing the auto makers to fail would be nothing less than catastrophic. The flip side is not any less unattractive...business as usual.
With the benefit of hindsight, those who want to learn from the mistakes of the past should be able to divine a proper strategy that will allow a modicum of recovery for the industry while simultaneously transforming it into a Twenty First Century juggernaut that will move America ahead of the world once more in the innovation and technology theater of transportation vehicles for the emerging new world. This should be a 'hand up' not a 'hand out' and should come with severe restrictions on the use of any funds loaned to automakers. This goes against my personal philosphy about 'the government that governs best, governs least' but these are extra-ordinary times.
Whether or not the pedantic ideologues and politicians have the guts to make such a leap is in serious question. I have the sense that America is walking in concrete shoes and until it breaks out of them we are doomed to secondary status world wide. Failed social engineering, along with ineptitude across the political spectrum, has ruined this nation and will continue to do so as long as the electorate sees more advantage in having the "nanny state" government that they seem so enamored with, than with a true capitalist economic system. You know, the one in which personal initiative and self determination makes its citizens self sufficient, as opposed to simply putting your hand out and having "U.ncle S.ugar" fill it with increasingly worthless greenbacks. The more government regulates and meddles in the economy, the worse things will get regardless of the good intentions of such meddling.
Free the American entreprenuer and watch what happens. We rose to greatness on the backs of the innovators. The men and women who had a germ of an idea, or who saw a need to be filled and turned it into industry. Those hardy, self motivated people like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the Wright Borthers and before them John Jacob Astor and Cornelious Vanderbilt, et. al. Only by unleashing those of us who have the will, ambition and drive to innovate will we be able to rise from our current ash heap. Only by allowing free market innovations and industrial development from those who are driven by the profit motive, and scrapping useless and utterly ridiculous regulations that stifle free enterprise, America can once more become the beacon it once was.
Our competitors in the global economy know this, and they are content to let us self-destruct. All Europe needs to do is 'tsk, tsk' at our politicians and liberal thinkers and the whole thing comes crashing down. Look at nuclear power if you want an example. France has almost 50% of its power generated from nuclear plants, yet the 'earth first' crowd and their liberal supporters have stifled that technology here in the states for what are clearly spurious and unsupportable arguments, and made us even more dependent of fossil fuels. Who are they helping here? By trying to be all all things to all people instead of being the biggest bull in the pasture and doing what needs to be done for ourselves, we have successfully neutered America
Much has been made of Reagan's "trickle down" economics policy, but contrary to all the media bullshit, it works. When people in the mold of say, a Bill Gates, are free to think up, develop and market their ideas without onerous government intervention and regulation, creating not only new industries but jobs and the manufacturing capabilities that those industries bring, the economy will once more go into overdrive. That is true 'trickle down economics.' FREE THE AMERICAN SPIRIT and watch what happens!
But that's just one man's opinion.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Maybe I'm Wrong...
A friend forwarded the attached translation to me. It is an article written by a French trooper, serving with our men and women in Afghanistan. I've provided a link at the end to the original story. After reading the piece, I guess I need to reevaluate my position in the previous post. Maybe we aren't losing our traditions of honor, loyalty and fealty after all.
American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman...This is absolutely great, interesting and moving. There is also a link to the original French article. Go to web site listed for interesting take on things in English. Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:46 AM -
Subject: American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman
21 Sep 2008 at 13:56 by Jean-Marc Liotier
The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of those who experience first hand how close we are to the USA . In spite of contextual political differences and conflicting interests that generate friction, we do share the same fundamental values - and when push comes to shove that is what really counts. Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground. In contrast with the Americans, the French soldiers don't seem to write much online - or maybe the proportion is the same but we just have less people deployed. Whatever the reason, this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact - but that only makes it more authentic. Here is the original French article, and here is my translation :"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of aprestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events".
Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company. They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.
Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulderstaller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. Here we discover America as it is often depicted: their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that: the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the heart of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people whoprovides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission.
And that is a first shock to our preconceptions: the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention. And they are impressive warriors! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.
And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the ennemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting; they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short. We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.
To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of theirmilitary excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".
http://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2008/09/21/american-troops-in-afghanistan-through-the-eyes-of-a-french-omlt-infantryman
American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman...This is absolutely great, interesting and moving. There is also a link to the original French article. Go to web site listed for interesting take on things in English. Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:46 AM -
Subject: American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman
21 Sep 2008 at 13:56 by Jean-Marc Liotier
The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of those who experience first hand how close we are to the USA . In spite of contextual political differences and conflicting interests that generate friction, we do share the same fundamental values - and when push comes to shove that is what really counts. Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground. In contrast with the Americans, the French soldiers don't seem to write much online - or maybe the proportion is the same but we just have less people deployed. Whatever the reason, this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact - but that only makes it more authentic. Here is the original French article, and here is my translation :"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of aprestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events".
Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company. They have a terribly strong American accent - from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.
Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine - they are all heads and shoulderstaller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - we are wimps, even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. Here we discover America as it is often depicted: their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that: the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the heart of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people whoprovides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission.
And that is a first shock to our preconceptions: the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention. And they are impressive warriors! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.
And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the ennemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting; they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short. We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.
To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of theirmilitary excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".
http://serendipity.ruwenzori.net/index.php/2008/09/21/american-troops-in-afghanistan-through-the-eyes-of-a-french-omlt-infantryman
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Honor, Loyalty and a Dying Breed
I attended a funeral last Thursday for the wife of a fellow American Legion Rider. I was part of a group of Legion Riders from our local post (69) here in Payson, Arizona. We attended on our motorcycles, wearing our 'colors' as a sign of support and respect for our brother and his family.
It struck me, as we were sitting in church listening to the eulogies, that I was a part of a dying breed in America. Although most of us looked like old Hell's Angels, with grizzled facial hair, motorcycle boots, jeans, 'do' rags, leather vests covered with name patches, American flags and awards, we were the loyal, the faithful, the keepers of the flame, the warriors of a bygone era. We were more though. We were his friends. We'd come not only to pay our respects to our brother in his time of need, but to continue a tradition which is disappearing and which, sadly, doesn't seem to be missed; camaraderie.
While its true that the Legion is based on the commonality of military service, it is only a base, a jumping off point for what serves as the nucleus of the group. It used to be that honor, loyalty, service and fidelity to one's comrades was something that was a given. It was passed down to us as children, by watching our fathers and other adult males from the time we were in grade school, through high school, college, military service and beyond. It was considered a sacred bond without having to be explained. A man's compatriots were his anchor from the vicissitudes and vagaries of his day to day life. One did not need to have daily contact. As men are wont to do, long gaps between visits or phone calls were the norm. Still, when a gathering took place, it seemed as if no time at all had passed. Old tales of bygone foibles, adventures, loves lost and found were exchanged with relish and gusto. Usually to much laughter and chiding. You could not embarass or be embarassed by your comrades. They knew your deepest secrets, and you theirs, so that nothing was sacred in their company. And that feeling of oneness, of belonging, of knowing that no matter what, these guys would go to the wall with you was always there, if unspoken.
Fast forward to today. In our headlong rush into the digital age, where communication is instantaneous but depth of meaning is lacking, we have lost that type of connection. We have become insular. Beings operating as individual vessels on a sea of pixels. To be sure, we have our 'friends' but they are only that. They are not comrades or brothers. They are not, it seems to me, people that we would go out of our way for. That level of committment to a group is reserved, these days, to street gangs and religious cults. We have gotten so used to asking 'can' something be done that we have forgotten to ask 'should' something be done.
The advent of feminism, multiculturalism, disdain for the 'patriarchal' society from which most of us came have made it unpopular to be a man these days. Advocates of the new world order are doing their best to see to it that men with ideals that me and my comrades hold are marginalized and consigned to the ash heap of history. Speaking only for myself, they can have the world that they are creating. When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind. Human evolution has not come as far as these folks think it has and at some point in the not too distant future there will arise the need for the type of man who is being cast aside now. I only hope that there are still some left to answer civilization's call.
We have lost our way as a society, putting more emphasis on 'diversity' than commonality. We are breaking the bonds that brought our society to greatness and casting aside the thing that makes it worthwhile. Its sad to see it happening. Sadder still to know that the conventional wisdom not only doesn't mourn the loss, but celebrates it.
But that's just one man's opinion.
It struck me, as we were sitting in church listening to the eulogies, that I was a part of a dying breed in America. Although most of us looked like old Hell's Angels, with grizzled facial hair, motorcycle boots, jeans, 'do' rags, leather vests covered with name patches, American flags and awards, we were the loyal, the faithful, the keepers of the flame, the warriors of a bygone era. We were more though. We were his friends. We'd come not only to pay our respects to our brother in his time of need, but to continue a tradition which is disappearing and which, sadly, doesn't seem to be missed; camaraderie.
While its true that the Legion is based on the commonality of military service, it is only a base, a jumping off point for what serves as the nucleus of the group. It used to be that honor, loyalty, service and fidelity to one's comrades was something that was a given. It was passed down to us as children, by watching our fathers and other adult males from the time we were in grade school, through high school, college, military service and beyond. It was considered a sacred bond without having to be explained. A man's compatriots were his anchor from the vicissitudes and vagaries of his day to day life. One did not need to have daily contact. As men are wont to do, long gaps between visits or phone calls were the norm. Still, when a gathering took place, it seemed as if no time at all had passed. Old tales of bygone foibles, adventures, loves lost and found were exchanged with relish and gusto. Usually to much laughter and chiding. You could not embarass or be embarassed by your comrades. They knew your deepest secrets, and you theirs, so that nothing was sacred in their company. And that feeling of oneness, of belonging, of knowing that no matter what, these guys would go to the wall with you was always there, if unspoken.
Fast forward to today. In our headlong rush into the digital age, where communication is instantaneous but depth of meaning is lacking, we have lost that type of connection. We have become insular. Beings operating as individual vessels on a sea of pixels. To be sure, we have our 'friends' but they are only that. They are not comrades or brothers. They are not, it seems to me, people that we would go out of our way for. That level of committment to a group is reserved, these days, to street gangs and religious cults. We have gotten so used to asking 'can' something be done that we have forgotten to ask 'should' something be done.
The advent of feminism, multiculturalism, disdain for the 'patriarchal' society from which most of us came have made it unpopular to be a man these days. Advocates of the new world order are doing their best to see to it that men with ideals that me and my comrades hold are marginalized and consigned to the ash heap of history. Speaking only for myself, they can have the world that they are creating. When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind. Human evolution has not come as far as these folks think it has and at some point in the not too distant future there will arise the need for the type of man who is being cast aside now. I only hope that there are still some left to answer civilization's call.
We have lost our way as a society, putting more emphasis on 'diversity' than commonality. We are breaking the bonds that brought our society to greatness and casting aside the thing that makes it worthwhile. Its sad to see it happening. Sadder still to know that the conventional wisdom not only doesn't mourn the loss, but celebrates it.
But that's just one man's opinion.
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