"Crayons!" Theme: "War"
“War does not determine who is right — only who is left,” British scholar Bertrand Russell.
This most poignant anti-war lament I’ve ever heard. “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda,” 1971, by Eric Bogle, an Aussie reflecting on a young soldier’s thoughts on Anzac Day and the ill-fated Battle of Gallipoli
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Today’s theme: “War”
• One of the most cherished military maxims about always fighting the last war is dead wrong. There'll never be a "last" war.
• I consider myself a rational pacifist. That means I’m vehemently opposed to conflict that cannot be justified and hawk like on wars that cannot be avoided. For instance, I was all for invading Afghanistan in 2002, but was steadfast in my belief that invading Iraq in 2003 was a bone-headed mistake. The term “rational pacifist” was coined by Albert Einstein, who adhered to the principles throughout his life.
• You can agree with your whole heart that General William Tecumseh Sherman was right — “War is hell” — and still contend that without war, watching the History Channel would be boring as hell.
• “Nights in White Satin" is a '67 song by Moody Blues. "Knights in White Satin" is a preposterous battle strategy doomed to fail.
Not War …
• Negative: Projections indicate entire planet will soon be 20-feet deep in discarded styrofoam. Positive: Airplane crash fatalities will be reduced to zero.
• Because it could make for riveting TV, I hope to one day hear a talk host announce to a panel of windy blabbermouths, "A landmark study reveals conclusively that the fewer words a person says on TV talk shows the more likely that they're a bonafide genius. Discuss.”
• The older I get the more appreciative I become of the wisdom of one old bartender who said, "Kid, count yourself lucky if the people who say they like you actually like you and the people who say they love you at least put up with all your bullshit.”
• Which seems sillier: a child believing in Santa Claus or an adult believing that Jesus Christ, a man whose ancestors were uniformly Middle Easterners, was a lily white dude. And would it hurt your faith if scholars revealed Jesus looked more like bin Laden than Ryan Seacrest?
Author’s note …
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