Coastal Empire: Rants 1 & 2

Editor’s Note: Marlow sums up a general consensus for those who remember some of America’s moments in misguided policy. The long string of notes on “Afghanistan” is one for the books, from people who helped the Saigon evacuation in 1975, those who responded to the Tehran Hostage Crisis and for whom this latest evokes memories of anguish. We will see how this one plays out.

– Vic

Author’ Note: Two short rants today.

-Marlow




Treachery Is America’s Style


First off on this topic let’s ask the Kurds for their thoughts. Or the Bay of Pigs freedom fighters, our loyal VN and Laotian allies, or the Iraqis after our 2011 draw down, and our Afghani allies (check that, they’re all about be killed).

We’ve been abandoning “allies” for quite a while now. All of those situations have been pretty shitty, and this current one is cut from that same cloth. I doubt there are many corners of the globe that thought of the US as trustworthy partners last week and now feel the opposite. Most are watching thinking that America is doing what it has done time and time again.

So, let’s get somethings straight:

· American foreign policy: Willful stupidity, incompetence, promiscuous meddling, cynical expediency, treachery. One could debate when it started, but there’s no debating that it’s bipartisan. It’s our style.

· On those occasions when thinking about these friends and comrades, many American warriors’ guilt and shame are so overwhelming that they struggle to breathe. They know they didn’t do anything wrong. They just left. And that’s the problem. We all did. America did as we always do — we got on our planes and helicopters, and we left. And when we did, we abandoned people who had invested everything — their safety, their futures, their entire lives — in us.

· Americans do not think of themselves as a treacherous people, but our recent history teaches us that we are. We think of ourselves as a generous and kind people, not people who are careless and sloppy with the lives of others, lives that have been put in our hands. But the pattern repeats: We demand trust and obedience. Then, when the going gets tough, or when we become distracted, or when we grow tired of making sacrifices, we leave. It happened in Vietnam and Iraq, and it will is happening again in Afghanistan.

So, this is why most of us will not get bent out of shape like many of us who had worn or were wearing uniform did with VN withdrawal. This kind of shit crosses administrations, parties, and generations without getting into the weeds of which President would have been worse.

But it’s just so effing predictable that it was going to be a colossal cluster and selling out of people who fought with us because that seems to be the pattern.

Which is why some us older types are so adamant about getting back to doing what the Constitution stipulates: go to Congress and secure a constitutionally, legally valid declaration of war. Or, we could have a national plebiscite with only mothers voting, preferably mothers from poor families in Appalachia and big city ghettos.

End of rant #1


Remembrances of talking about the draft
with my grandkids and their friends long ago

I tried to impress upon them, given how shitty their primary and secondary school civics education was, about what actually would happen, should the shit truly hit the American fan regarding the draft.

Some lively discussion and blank faces were a joy to behold from these Midwestern upper middle-class sons and daughters.

Marlow: (explains how the draft never really goes away anywhere)

Kids: “You mean they can make me fight? Hell no, I love my life. Those people didn’t do sh*t to me.” The echoes of Muhammed Ali were so delicious to contemplate.

Marlow: (introduce them to the idea of women being drafted)

Kids: Tears, anger, rage, then their YGTBSM resignation quickly was followed by their MTV watching, video gaming, and cellphone yakking starting anew.

Despite my best efforts these proto-Millennials were fully primed long ago to accept this ongoing cluster as a reprieve from being ordered to deploy to one of the stans.

Still even today they just can’t grasp that this current 3-act play ain’t over. We may well have to fight our way out of that goddamn airport. When will tempers fray? One Talib, seeking to avenge his dead brother, fires into our troops, and it’s on.

How about the Americans NOT in Kabul? Are we OK with just leaving them to the Taliban? How much ransom are we willing to pay not to watch them beheaded on YouTube?

End of rant #2

(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down
(Hey!) We bounce a ball that’s square and round.
(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down,
(Hey!) We bounce a ball that’s square and round.
When will it end? (When will it end?)
When will it end? (When will it end?)

When will it ever end?

Hey! You can never go wrong by ending with a Yardbirds’ quote.


Copyright © 2021 From My Isle Seat
www.vicsocotra.com