Posted on 04/02/2002 5:53:25 AM PST by Mr. Thorne
Edited on 07/12/2004 3:38:22 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
"Let's roll." By now, Todd Beamer's two-word battle cry is as much a part of our national lexicon as Franklin Roosevelt's "date of infamy," John F. Kennedy's "bear any burden," or Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall." Mr. Beamer's words, captured by a cell phone as he led Flight 93's passenger revolt on September 11, have inspired and redefined a nation. They have been quoted by presidents and prime ministers, reproduced on bumper stickers, plastered on the side of buildings, emblazoned on fighter-jets and stenciled on bombs.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I like it.
Words and music by George M. Cohan, author of "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy."
"The Yanks are comin', the Yanks are comin', and we won't be back 'til it's over, over there..."
And with the actual lyrics, as well. Delightful!
I love that song...my grandfather served in France in WWI and he would sing it when we were kids.
Thanks for posting!!
Message to Saddam - We're coming!!
Improbable, not really it's what happens when a liberal democracy gets its dander up. IMHO we are still getting our ducks in a row. This war is going to be going on for a long time, there will be false starts, wrong turns, blunders along the way but in the end we will win.
Defeat is NOT an option. If the terrorists win we all get to take a giant step back to 600 ad (note this is a bad thing).
I'm glad you point out that it is a bad thing, because there are many on the left - eko-wackos in particular - who would argue that it would be good.
The Boy Scouts took them on D-Day. Joe Dawson led Company G. He started off with 200 men. He got to the top of the bluff with 20 men, but he got to the top. He was the first one to get there. He's going to be introducing President Clinton tomorrow at Omaha Beach. John Spaulding was another. He was a lieutenant. Many of them are nameless. I don't know their names. I've talked to men who've said, "I saw this lieutenant and he tossed a grenade into the embrasure of that fortification, and out came four Germans with their hands up. I thought to myself, hell, if he can do that, I can do that." "What was his name?" I will ask. "Geez, I don't know. I never found out his name. I never saw him before, and I never saw him again, but he was a great man. He got me up that bluff."
Stephen Ambrose
They're not the first to make that mistake.
National Guard troops "guarding" airports and bridges have unloaded weapons.
No action has been taken to secure the borders.
The U.S. is still issuing visas to citizens of terrorist states. Some are--no kidding--for flight training.
Nothing has been done to round up enemy aliens...much less people who have overstayed their visas.
We have bombed Afghanistan and made the rubble bounce. Took some prisoners. All window dressing.
Bush said we'd punish those in league with the terrorists. Have we seen any punishment for Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Yemen, UAE, Sudan, Pakistan (yes, Pakistan)?
Have we closed down--with extreme prejudice--the hundreds of "madrasas" which teach terrorism in Pakistan?
Have we acted to shut down the ~100 active terrorist cells operating in the U.S.?
Have we begun a world-wide program of 'targeted assassination' against the leaders of terrorist organizations?
We are still in denial...and it will take another attack or two--an American city turned to dust, thousands or millions killed--before we get serious.
"They're coming"? A joke; nothing more.
--Boris
It would be fascinating to know what they were thinking. I'd bet that like all fanatic cults, the al-Quida guys were caught up in group-think. One fanatic spouts off that America is too weak to strike back and a dozen more starts topping that with how decadent and spinelesss, etc. Americans are, they wouldn't dare retaliate....blah, blah, blah. Of course Allah would take a big hand in their *righteous* cause...blah, blah, blah. Devout Muslims in all nations would recognize that the moment had come and rise up...blah, blah, blah. IOW, they were in good part seduced by their own cabal circle-jerking. Just a guess, of course.
First the groundwork.
Campbell posited that there are, so far, three basic types of humanity:
Tribesman: Superstitious, subservient to his tribe and culture. Individualism is not an option, only the tribe matters. He is the archetype of aboriginal peoples everywhere; what's good for the tribe is good for him, what's good for the tribe is known by tradition, anything outside of tradition is bad medicine, and to be avoided.
Barbarian: Self centered, loyal to himself and his hero-king. The self sacrifice of the tribesman baffles him. Tradition is fine until it gets in his way, at which point it can be... modified (special circumstances, don't'cha know). He is the archetype of the 'rampaging hordes' we read so much about. He can take anything from tribesmen, but only so long as a sufficiently charismatic leader is in charge. When his hero-king loses his 'hero' status, he loses his king status as well.
and finally...
Citizen: This is the archetype of civilized peoples. A mix of self-interest and self-discipline, he works both for himself and for 'the civilization'.
Campbell's premise was that no inferior archetype could stand before a superior archetype. Thus, tribesmen fell to barbarians, who did not fight by counting coup and racking up good medicine, but by hacking their enemies to pieces and enslaving their non combatants.
Thus, too, did citizen beat back barbarian. The Roman Legionnaire baffled the barbarian. Where was his axe? His two-handed sword? How could he gain glory in battle? In the meantime the Legionnaires concerned themselves with discipline, unity, and tactics, not personal glory.
Which brings us to the middle east. The Barbarians have been watching the weaklings for so long; they were so sure. Their enemies avoided battle, they sued for peace, where was the glory in that? They must, therefore be weak tribesmen.
And then they pushed one step too far.
The Citizens' response, as usual, was baffling to the barbarian. Where their wounded pride should have demanded a massive retaliation, there was instead resolve, cold anger, and tactical planning. And then, when the Citizen was ready, there was attack. Consistent, ongoing, attack. The barbarian doesn't understand this whatsoever.
Similarly, in Israel. Where is the glory in being one of four men in a tank, as opposed to being a heroic figure with a Kalashnikov or an explosive waistcoat? Nowhere, to the barbarian. But the tanks seem to be somewhat more effective, in the short term at least, than the rifles and suicides. After all, it is not the Citizen government besieged in a basement, but the barbarians' 'hero-king.'
Also, the barbarian's treatment of tradition is a perfect match. Not only are the barbarian's cultural traditions well suited to their conflicts, but those aspects that speak against such things are... forgotten, or reinterpreted... so that everything works a little bit better for them in the here and now.
Really must see if I can find that piece. It was an interesting read.
Send the word!
Send the word to beware!
'Cause the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming....
Flag me if you find it please.
Do you want to live with the constant smell of manure (main form of transportation, remember), B.O. (hard to grab a hot shower every day, when water takes an hour to heat up), woodsmoke, dung fires, etc. Oh, and don't forget, you're giving up: pre fab clothing, shoes, belts, etc., most modern drugs, especially penicillin. The AIDS cocktail is toast, get an STD and die. Get an infection and die. Get just about any disease, and die.
Oh, and fire up those natural childbirth classes. Not gonna be too many painkillers readily available...
Nuts, man.
I love technology.
Please find that piece. Your post #22 was most interesting.
When I was young, we kids were assured that, althought the Soviets wanted to conquer us, the Soviets would never nuke us. If they took over our country, logic said, they would want it to be intact, they would want to be able to utilize our rich farmlands and our infrastructure. The scary thing about these Muslinazis is that they want to conquer us and destroy us too. They don't give a rat's carville about preserving any parts of our civilization or our land.
Watch as the hometown heroes rescue countries in distress, feed the hungry and win the hearts of more than one grateful nation. Watch as the faithful fighting men return victorious to America with cheers and pride. Don't miss this stunning saga of a nation prepared to defend their homeland.
I do believe you have an assignment.
As someone told me "Mother nature is a castiron bi*ch and she will bite you in the butt give half a chance."
Yes it really is a negative philosophy. In Friedmans book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" he talks about these people. They don't understand what's going on in the modern world, they know they don't like it and they'll do all in their power to bring it down.
Your alternative is....what?
Well, now, y'all will have to give me a bit. I'm busy wasting time at work and the book's are at home!
Mercy, have mercy!
sheesh
What did you think I meant?
'Sides, I don't have the car. The wife does. And she's on vacation, taking a day off with my mom. Shopping. So you need to consider that I'll probably need all the money I can get in the very near future.
We're waiting.
--Boris
How long do you suppose it should take before we begin at least some of the measures I mention? A year? Two? Five?
Please tell us.
--Boris
I think this phrase is consistent with referring to Air Force F-15/16s that shot the plane down (IMO).
Not to sound rude, but this trash writing reads like something out of Readers Digest.
Does the writer realy want to be in the Terrorist's mind? Why does he pretend with this non-sense?
A wish I didn't agree bump.
I beg to cordially differ: The sleeping giant just swatted a ant that bit it while it slept. But the giant hasn't yet roused itself to full wakefullness in order to decimate the mound and kill ALL the ants!
We keep hearing that this is just the beginning and I believe this is true. We'll know we're fully awake when every man and woman in our country can identify their part in the sacrifice for this effort. Right now, most people are going about their daily lives with little, if any, thought of the war effort and their part in it.
Click here for my favorite image since 9/11. WARNING: Contains one really bad word, but it seems appropriate.
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