I grew up in a military family in which Memorial Day was personal: my mother losing her brother at Pearl Harbor; my dad losing friends in WWII. The larger national mythology was ignored.
In fact, in all nations many soldiers have lost their lives in vain because some wars, including recent ones, are so wrongly entered. But how do you admit this?
The ancient Greeks were right: we are fools, playthings, toys, for the gods. Brown is right: what we engage in as war is war perverted, and the problem is not the war but the perversion.
The true fight is the mental fight. The last line of Love's Body is ... "there is only poetry".
In fact, in all nations many soldiers have lost their lives in vain because some wars, including recent ones, are so wrongly entered. But how do you admit this?
The ancient Greeks were right: we are fools, playthings, toys, for the gods. Brown is right: what we engage in as war is war perverted, and the problem is not the war but the perversion.
The true fight is the mental fight. The last line of Love's Body is ... "there is only poetry".
