The Laughing Wolf

Andy Rooneyrmidon

Arriving a bit late to the fray generated by Old Media Giant Andy Rooney. Truth be told, I think that after Baldilocks and Blackfive got finished with him, that there was little to be done. At least, that is, in regards his comments. As for what lies behind much of his comments, that is a different matter.

Yes, I am aware that he served in WWII, and I will not belittle that service. What I will say is what a lot of people, possibly including the man himself will say: that was different. To their minds, it was and is, and this dichotomy is just part and parcel of a mindset that allows the Old Media’s undeclared war against the military to continue.

Despite his own service, it was “different” then and no one truly wanted to be a soldier. They just did what had to be done. Only losers and psychotics wanted to be soldiers, you see, and they made up the military up until it was called upon their betters to enlist and win the war. A gross simplification of the mindset, but if you bother to read through a lot of drek, this is indeed the distilled version.

It is also the heart of the socialist/liberal/whatever viewpoint: No good person wants to be a soldier. Anyone who does is psychotic, not nice, a loser, etc. At best they are myrmidons, and at worst they are all cold-blooded baby burners just itching to go to work. Yes, I have chosen offensive terms, and they are terms that I have heard used against people who have served in the armed forces.

Now, the problem is that some like Mr. Rooney are conflicted by past service, or the fact that they happen to know someone who is a serving member. Maybe they are the child of a friend or whatever, but they are good people and can’t possibly be such a bad person. That just leaves one option: stupid. They were too stupid or were tricked into service, that’s it. They were forced in by the evil machinations of BushCo, who forced the economy into a slump so that there would be many willing volunteers. That has to be why these nice and bright people would join.

So, they are stupid myrmidons and baby burners.

Unacknowledged amongst this mental clutter is quite a bit of bigotry. You see, to those of this mindset, to be used by the military is the only way “they” can get ahead. “They” being the poor/ethnics left behind by the great American capitalist juggernaut. The Man keeps them down otherwise, so they have no choice but to go into the military. The military, in turn, has to advance some of the more “gifted” of “them” and that is how “they” get ahead. When you parse the logic here, it is more than a little obvious and offensive.

Bah. People like Rooney and others of the far left never got it, will never get it, and don’t want even a chance at understanding why people choose to serve. Why those that serve see that service as a good thing in support of a great country. Why those that serve fail to see that America is the pits in terms of moral relativism and such. Why those that serve are not necessarily the ones wearing blinders, or just plain blind to the world as it really is.

What they also miss is that they sound just like the intelligentsia who backed Chamberlin to the hilt, and felt it just awful that that warmonger Churchill was taking over; who insisted that we not get involved, and didn’t that Mr. Hitler have some interesting ideas; and, who believed that we could do business with Tojo and Stalin and others if reason were to prevail.

It’s not the questions or the column itself that was disrespectful to the troops. It is the thought behind it that is the blood insult, and is what needs exposure to the light of day for all to see.

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