They don't call me a great man
for nothing.
In fact, they charge me quite a bit!
I remember, half a century ago, going to Wright-Patterson AFB every AFD. We'd walk around, slack-jawed, admiring the silvery airplanes, walking through the cargo planes, climbing up and looking into the cockpit of an F-104 fighter. Not The Blue AngelsA decade ago, Blondie had a nephew flying in the Blue Angels, but since Wright-Pat was Air Force, I was more familiar with the Thunderbirds. As they arrived to do a pass only a few feet over our heads, the announcer would say, "Ladies and gentlemen, the sound of freedom" and then the roar of the jets would rattle our teeth. It was so modern. So high-tech. I never thought about the fact that I was scared of heights and would eventually come to really hate air travel. Although part of that might not have anything to do with airplanes. I hate any form of travel where I'm not the one doing the driving. And I have to admit that having a pilot cruise around in a Cessna while I took pictures was OK. And it was so anti-septic. There wasn't any imagery around of napalm or of bombs blowing arms and legs everywhere. Peace Is Our ProfessionPeace is our profession, the Strategic Air Command claimed. And they pointed out that the value of military preparedness is that it prevents wars. Back in those days, the US didn't start wars, we played defense. How times have changed. In today's world, there aren't many things that the US does exceptionally well, but war is one of them. So why are we giving it away, instead of charging for it? We can't afford to be policeman to the world unless someone else wants to play town council to the world and pony up the payroll and the operating costs. Fork Over Or Do WithoutIf Korea, and Japan and Iraq and Germany and Afghanistan want our military present, they should cough up the money to pay for them including a reasonably large charge for blood, limbs, and tombstones. If they don't pay, we should act like the power company, and shut them off. Come to think of it, that's a fairly good slogan for the Department of Defense. Call 'em The Power Company. Other Bloggers On Related Topics: |
|||
|
|
