Yeah, how about that, eh? It’s been over a month since I last wrote you folks. I have a treasure-trove of handy excuses, but apathy is the leading candidate for use.
There’s really no more reason to write today other than a slight up-tick in motivation. See, there have been plenty of topics I would have liked to discuss with the hive, but I’ve just not had the desire. It’s too bad, because some were pretty good. Today’s item of discussion is no better or worse than the rest; it’s what they call “fair to middling.”
UK’s Prince Harry might not be deployed to Iraq. He’s wanted to since joining the army and going through all that army training. He said he doesn’t want to go through all that training only to have to sit behind a desk while his boys go to war and serve their country. As a 2nd Lt he would be in charge of about 12 guys in a combat zone, but the army’s said that they wouldn’t deploy him if his presence were to become dangerous to his men. Harry’s third in line to the throne by the way, so the subject is likely a touchy one for the royals. I will say that this issue is a complex one. For one, his very presence might just make Iraq more dangerous for his men. And then there’s the propaganda victory for the insurgency if they were to kill Harry, or the gods forbid, capture him (or worse make him confess to various things on behalf of his government). This is a tough call. How much resources would be diverted to protecting him, even without his consent? Would the men around him be resentful, or would they make sacrifices to themselves, and more importantly the mission, to protect him? The young man is clearly patriotic, and as evident from the tabloid covers, in possession of unbridled energy, a useful outlet for which might be combat service. But do you stifle his patriotism and energy simply because he’s a royal? It’s an interesting question. I’m sure he wants to be just like everyone else to some degree or another.
Harry has made mention that he would quite the army if they refuse to deploy him; he could have a desk job. To Harry, there is no honor in a desk job. I think that’s admirable, if perhaps naïve. But the simple fact of the matter is this: royals have been leading men in combat since the beginning of monarchies, and that was a long time ago. They’ve always been targeted on the field of battle, and battles have been won or lost because of their presence (or lack thereof) and/or subsequent removal from the field. There is no reason this young man cannot fight for his country. He wants it. Let him have a wee taste. Perhaps after that he’ll realize that it isn’t all glory. But perhaps he’ll become a man. Perhaps it will change him fundamentally, and make him a better person AND a better leader. Leaders who know what their men go through and have experienced it along side them are better leaders than the men who sit upon their throne, hundreds of miles from the front, never exposed to anything more dangerous than a fall down some stairs. Let the boy fight. Let him learn. Let him live. Let him be a man. And if he dies, then mourn him as you would any other brave warrior.
Word of the Day: Argot (AHR-go; -gut) (noun): 1. a specialized and often secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group; 2. a secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps, and vagabonds.
On This Day in History: (I really missed doing this – but I looked every day up anyway…) Marcus Aurelius, called the philosopher emperor and some would argue was Rome’s greatest emperor, was born (121 CE). Aurelius was the last of the “Five Good Emperors.” Despite being the “philosopher,” his rule was marked by a great deal of warfare, in particular with the Parthians in modern day Iran. His son and successor Commodus (see the similarity to commode?) was a wreck of an emperor, and thus, Aurelius’ death marks the end of Pax Romana. We also missed Rome’s birthday, 21 Apr. Rome was founded on that day in 753 BCE, though it was not yet an empire, or even a republic.
“For any particular thing, ask, “What is it in itself? What is its nature?”” – Marcus Aurelius in Meditations.
How’s that for an utterly random bit o’ Morning Coffee?
