Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Gore Vidal on the Vietnam war - oh how it rings true

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Gore Vidal on the Vietnam war - oh how it rings true


    Gore Vidal

    Ten years ago I thought of the Vietnam caper as our empire's Syracusan adventure, an analogy which now seems melodramatic, for during all this time there has not been a Sparta (pace Kissinger? Schlesinger Fordinger) capable of bringing us down. Only we could have done that; and we came close. Fortunately, the very thoroughness of our defeat ought to put an
    end forever to our loony military pretensions. Americans have always been lousy soldiers. In the face of the enemy, Kilroy throws away his gun and splits; should an officer object, Kilroy frags him. To me our enduring
    cowardice is a sign of good judgment. We win the occasional war and deter would-be Spartas through our superior production of lethal toys. This true state of affairs makes all the more meaningless the rhetoric of those who have no actual connection with American life, like the current administration which has now taken to warning us that the last virginal orifice of the all-American, all-macho imperium is in serious danger of
    penetration by nuclear-tipped cylindrical hardware unless we cease our pitiful, helpless "isolationism."

    But even the ventriloquists who speak through the dummy in the Oval office know that we are none of us isolationist, nor can we ever be, thanks to
    the interdependency of the world's economies. "Isolationist" is simply this year's code word for those who oppose the use of military force against other nations, for those who refuse to bear any burden, make any sacrifice, etc. After 1976, I predict (being an optimist) that the word will have gone forth to friend and foe alike that the era of American bull**** is finished and that we will now try to create that society the
    world has been waiting two hundred years to see: an American civilization.

    This thread will probably sink like a stone.........
    Any views I may express here are personal and certainly do not in any way reflect the views of my employer. Tis the rising of the moon..

    Look, I just don't anymore, okay?

  • #2
    The "Syracusan adventure" is a disasterous military campaign which ended the golden age of Athens and destroyed its power during the Peloponnesian war against Sparta in the fifth century BC.

    Btw, For any of you students of history or military buffs out there, Thucydides' account is a great read - one of the greatest accounts of a military campaign ever written.

    Last edited by Alexander's Horse; February 26, 2003, 09:10.
    Any views I may express here are personal and certainly do not in any way reflect the views of my employer. Tis the rising of the moon..

    Look, I just don't anymore, okay?

    Comment


    • #3
      great article.
      http://monkspider.blogspot.com/

      Comment


      • #4
        When did he write this?

        Comment


        • #5
          "Americans have always been lousy soldiers. In the face of the enemy, Kilroy throws away his gun and splits; should an officer object, Kilroy frags him."
          ****ing bastard.
          "mono has crazy flow and can rhyme words that shouldn't, like Eminem"
          Drake Tungsten
          "get contacts, get a haircut, get better clothes, and lose some weight"
          Albert Speer

          Comment


          • #6
            "Americans have always been lousy soldiers. In the face of the enemy, Kilroy throws away his gun and splits; should an officer object, Kilroy frags him."

            Well, you can't avoid the occasional chickenchoker - I'm sure even the ANZACs had at least one or two. But 99.999% of time, that remark is nothing but insulting bull****.
            When all else fails, blame brown people. | Hire a teen, while they still know it all. | Trump-Palin 2016. "You're fired." "I quit."

            Comment


            • #7
              Internet troll quotes a literary troll. How trollcestuous.
              "Spirit merges with matter to sanctify the universe. Matter transcends to return to spirit. The interchangeability of matter and spirit means the starlit magic of the outermost life of our universe becomes the soul-light magic of the innermost life of our self." - Dennis Kucinich, candidate for the U. S. presidency
              "That’s the future of the Democratic Party: providing Republicans with a number of cute (but not that bright) comfort women." - Adam Yoshida, Canada's gift to the world

              Comment


              • #8
                Not only that, but it is insulting to my grandfather. ****ing bastard to insult him, that Gore Vidal...
                "mono has crazy flow and can rhyme words that shouldn't, like Eminem"
                Drake Tungsten
                "get contacts, get a haircut, get better clothes, and lose some weight"
                Albert Speer

                Comment


                • #9
                  Doesn't he make hair spray?
                  “As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.â€
                  "Capitalism ho!"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
                    "Americans have always been lousy soldiers. In the face of the enemy, Kilroy throws away his gun and splits; should an officer object, Kilroy frags him."

                    Well, you can't avoid the occasional chickenchoker - I'm sure even the ANZACs had at least one or two. But 99.999% of time, that remark is nothing but insulting bull****.
                    Yes, he was a tad over the top there - but that was 1976 when the issue was topical and there was kind of a crisis in American confidence after Vietnam.
                    Any views I may express here are personal and certainly do not in any way reflect the views of my employer. Tis the rising of the moon..

                    Look, I just don't anymore, okay?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      You can't blame Gore Vidal... he is old and senile; and he sits at his home in Italy watching 16 hours of TV a day and thinks he knows how the world works.
                      To us, it is the BEAST.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Sava
                        You can't blame Gore Vidal... he is old and senile; and he sits at his home in Italy watching 16 hours of TV a day and thinks he knows how the world works.
                        Good post. I could add a hundred items to your litany, but yours is so cogent that I won't bother.
                        He's got the Midas touch.
                        But he touched it too much!
                        Hey Goldmember, Hey Goldmember!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Sava
                          You can't blame Gore Vidal... he is old and senile; and he sits at his home in Italy watching 16 hours of TV a day and thinks he knows how the world works.
                          As opposed to everyone here who spend 16 hours a day in front of their PC and think they know how the world works.
                          If I'm posting here then Counterglow must be down.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Screw Gore Vidal. His opinion on anything matters a lot.
                            Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                            "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                            He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              "Americans have always been lousy soldiers. In the face of the enemy, Kilroy throws away his gun and splits; should an officer object, Kilroy frags him."

                              Isn't Vidal a WWII vet? What does this say about him?
                              I make no bones about my moral support for [terrorist] organizations. - chegitz guevara
                              For those who aspire to live in a high cost, high tax, big government place, our nation and the world offers plenty of options. Vermont, Canada and Venezuela all offer you the opportunity to live in the socialist, big government paradise you long for. –Senator Rubio

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X