Cowboys 'R US

Recently George Bush said:

“Anybody who wants to harm American troops will be found and brought to justice,” Bush said. “There are some who feel like that if they attack us, that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they’re talking about, if that’s the case. My answer is, ‘Bring ‘em on.’ We’ve got the force necessary to deal with the security situation.”

Since then at least three more Americans have been killed in Iraq and several people have taken on the president for his “bring ‘em on” posture.

One of the best opposition piece I have seen appeared in The Standard -Times. It read in part:

Truth be told, we are seeing the limits of force every day. We also are seeing the failure to develop an alternative to force in nudging Iraq closer to the democratic republic that was a main objective of the war effort. Mr. Bush is not helping by substituting gunslinging for statesmanship, bluster and bravado for peaceful persuasion, and rhetoric for candor at home about the situation. Sooner or later, the president or someone in his administration will have to come forward and start telling the truth about what the war has wrought.

The rest of this editorial is here.

Summing up the other point of view was a writer in the American Daily. He argued:

Throughout history, when the Neville Chamberlains, Jimmy Carters and Howard Deans of the world have tried in vain, just one more time, to compromise with evil, it is men of courage like Churchill, Reagan and Bush who finally had to step forward and say, “enough!”

If the United States of America does not stamp out terrorism around the world, which nation is going to do it? France? Germany? Russia? China? Hardly. Even Great Britain is turning on their courageous prime minister, Tony Blair.

You can find the rest of this article here.

Not that it will do any good, but I couldn’t resist responding to this person. I wrote:

Like you, I admire bravery. Like you, I want the best for this country and the world. And like you I am a fan of the Western myth, the cowboy hero of a dozen, first-rate Hollywood movies.

But apparently unlike you, I saw bravery when Jesus of Nazareth hung from a cross and asked for forgiveness of the people who put Him there. That took guts and wisdom, an incredible combination that I can't match, but I can at least admire and aspire to.

I didn't see bravery when George Bush strutted across the deck of an aircraft carrier pretending to be a warrior. I saw a child who can't put away childish things. And I didn't hear brave words when George Bush issued his "bring it on " challenge. Why is it brave to be defiant when you have the mightiest armed force in the world behind you - and when some kid from Westport will pay for your foolish words with his life?

I fear you mistake bravado for bravery - the sort of mistake every soldier in the front lines of every war has seen and hates. The president's words are the typical reaction of the person not in the front lines - the politician, the writer, the person who stays at home. Such are the persons filled with fury, hate, and brave words. The soldier - and the civilian - in the front lines pays the price.

We'd all like to live in the world of our childhood fantasies where Alan Ladd and Gary Cooper deal so cleanly and permanently with the bad guys. But that was a fairy tale world developed in Hollywood to entertain us. It wasn't the world of the real cowboy any more than it is the world that we live in today. It is simply the entertainer’s world that perpetuates the easy myth where men act out their childish fantasies. In the fantasy world no one gets killed but the bad guys. In the real world, innocent women, children and men die. In the wars of the last century far more civilians than soldiers, have paid the ultimate price. So it was in America in 2001, so it was in Afghanistan in 2002 and so it was in Iraq in 2003.

I don't know if the human race will ever out grow this. But I'm with the Carpenter. We have to try. George Bush wants to take the easy route - just as he has done all his life - and just as he has done all his life, he wants others to pay the price - and sadly, we will. Perhaps for generations.