A Rare Medium Well Done: 11.14.12
"Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust".
Sun Tzu wrote this passage in his book, 'The Art of War'. It was published over 2,000 years ago. It was relevant then, it's relevant now. Never holding more truth than in our nation at the present.
We have become a fat, flabby and flaccid country. What was once a the requisite combination of brains, guts and heart, now gives way to a corporate colossus of untold rotten morals and a cadre of high-minded scallywags. Gone are the days of explosive assertion, it is now a society of naive optimism of smug and comfortable assumptions.
We have become a culture of pussies.
Yes, the United States of America is now the poster child of pathetic ridicule consumed by its own warped motivation.
The first settlers fought through extreme hardship forging the path of a conditioned and cohesive nation. Unapologetically demanding and relentlessly positive. That inkling gave way to an incredible, insatiable quest for independence. And that freedom was won through hard toil and never a hint of dissimulation of purpose and meaning. In other words, our forefathers were tough guys. Molded in the ways of plotters, expatriates, militants and mercenaries. All with the goal of self-reliance, self-rule and self-sufficiency. Separate from the extreme heavy-handed governorship of the monarchy.
We declared our autarchy, battled for democracy, sacrificed much, and won liberty. The usurper and eradication on all restrictions of thought and movement.
The terrain was toppled and it continued through major wars, economic downturns, a bloody civil insurrection that threatened our very existence and numerous pallets of coordinated chaos. And as a nation we persevered and held strong to a consensus of compulsory power, confronting ruthless forces both foreign and domestic.
We became tough guys. Arrogant defiance of fate. Deep tumult of heart and realness. Blazing revolutionaries both wise and energetic.
But as we fast forward and are awakened in the infancy of a new millennium, those concrete concepts have given way to an atmosphere of sorrow and penance. Enervating gloom. A sinister alliance within the frontier of fraud and a new wilderness of mirrors and confusion.
We became pussies. Our willingness to fight and sacrifice are but a distant memory.
As someone born in 1960, I have stood witness to this new method of thinking and acting. I've had it too easy. I grew up on the cusp of the ultra-modern era. I never had to go to war. I never had to hide in a foxhole while enemy bullets zipped by my head. I don't know what it's like to not have transportation. I've never experienced life with out air conditioning. Long division was out, calculators were in. I watched as we put a man on the moon and then reaped the benefits of that technology. Microwaves made meals instant. Miracle medicine extinguished deadly diseases. I've never suffered. That was my generation. It was curt and simple.
Now we are raising a society of cell phones and google. Information is no longer sought, it's dispensed magically at your fingertips. There is no question we are a much smarter nation. Much more intelligent. But not as tough. The thought process of the citizens is that of comfortability and studied indifference. Attitudes are weirdly emotionless. A blithe, gauzy Arthurian, vortex of self-importance.
Too many easy days. The elite Navy SEALs have a motto, "the only easy day is yesterday". We now subscribe to a new motto,"the easiest day will be tomorrow".
Parents no longer spank, they employ something called 'time-out'. Discipline is now administered on a 'need basis', not instilled as a right of passage. Respect is now something demanded, not won through life experience. Academic fraud is now not only tolerated, but often challenged in court as a 'it's ok as long as they don't do it again'. All concepts that were taboo a few decades ago.
The forces on the left have incorporated a system of shielding kids from losing. Games where no score is recorded, participation trophies are awarded for just showing up. Winning is not possible in every instance. Learning how to lose gracefully with tact and dignity is lost. The 'everyone's a winner' idea is dangerous. In real world activities, winning is not always possible. More times than not it's but a fantasy. And the learned ability to counter with notion and make yourself better is lost to the 'why me' syndrome. A sense of entitlement is born. A marginally paranoid attitude is hatched. Normal facilities of common sense are estranged. It's too easy.
So Brian Urlacher, go ahead and congratulate an enemy player who has just intercepted YOUR quarterback. Pat him on the back and shake his hand on the field. Call out the fans and deem them stupid. Claim he is a friend. Explain that the viewing public doesn't understand. Cry you are just trying to be kind and not a jerk. It's all good. We're all buddies.
Tell that to the men and women who are fighting to keep us free. Fighting so a linebacker who plays a game for a living makes more money in one year than a soldier makes in a lifetime. Insult the intelligence of the fans that buy the tickets, purchase your jersey, consume the products you hawk. Go ahead, bite that hand that feeds your greedy and untested mouth.
There are no tough guys anymore. We're mud-like soft. It's too easy. A clique, clan of unrealized echos of the past. Unmoored thoughts of a champagne carbonated soirée.
General George Patton wrote, "no great decision was ever made in a swivel chair."
We have become a syndicate of pussies.
(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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