For all of you out there that think the anti-war movement is a recent construct lets go back to 1862 and find out how modern your defeatist thinking really is.
Bruce Thornton writes in part: “Lincoln was as good as his word, finally getting rid of McClellan and putting in charge U. S. “Unconditional Surrender” Grant, who like the President understood the tragic nature of war, what Lincoln called the “terrible arithmetic”: killing some today so that more don’t die tomorrow. We, on the other hand, demand that the “rough angles of war” be smoothed away, believe that “lighter blows” are preferable to decisive heavy ones, pretend that we really don’t have to kill some today because we’re ready to gamble that more won’t die tomorrow, and are eager to abandon the struggle because the tragic, eternal realities of conflict disturb our psychic well-being.
This is the difference between 1862 and 2006 that offers little comfort, for we are facing a jihadist enemy fanatical in his devotion to his cause and counting precisely on our failure of nerve to compensate for his military weakness. He knows very well that our therapeutic sensibilities hinder us from doing all we can to win, and from reckoning with the “terrible arithmetic” the cost of achieving our aims. Fortunately, our military is made up of a very different breed, and their skill and devotion still give us a good chance for victory. Time will tell whether or not they are enough.”
Go read it now!
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