Heroes?
Two posts in one day- a new record!
Sadly, this isn't an exuberant post or even a smarmy one. It's actually rather tragic. It deals with the magic of childhood heroes, and their fall.
Recently, a GOP congressman from California stepped down due to corruption. My thoughts on the subject ranged from non-surprise to anger at the Stupid Party for screwing up again. Given the current political climate, I don't think that it's terribly surprising. I let it be until I found out that the Congressman Cunningham of the scandal was formerly Commander Randy "Duke" Cunningham, one of two American Vietnam-war aces. Flying off the USS Constellation in 1972, "Duke" shot down the famous North Vietnamese Ace "Toon" after a fierce dog-fight. Earlier in the same flight, he had "splashed" two other MiGs. I remember reading about it during my youth. I studied the techniques of the various pilots- how the Vietnamese used American rules of engagement to draw the heavy F-4s into close-in dogfights that they couldn't win, and how "Duke" adapted to the situation and came out victorious.
That a man who held such lofty stature in my child-hood (and in the pantheon of ace pilots) could make such a colossal error is important. It is a reminder that everyone is fallible, even figures who seem larger than life. Also, there is the important lesson that "power corrupts" as it was famously put by Lord Acton. Despite what they might like you to think, politicians are not human beings of superior will or moral fibre. They are ordinary people, and thus they are just as likely to fall into the traps that threaten to ensnare us all. More to this, when they do err, the lot of the nation suffers greatly because of it. Only by developing a healthy conscience and scepticism towards politicians can a citizen of a democratic state hope to maintain a just polity.
Sadly, this isn't an exuberant post or even a smarmy one. It's actually rather tragic. It deals with the magic of childhood heroes, and their fall.
Recently, a GOP congressman from California stepped down due to corruption. My thoughts on the subject ranged from non-surprise to anger at the Stupid Party for screwing up again. Given the current political climate, I don't think that it's terribly surprising. I let it be until I found out that the Congressman Cunningham of the scandal was formerly Commander Randy "Duke" Cunningham, one of two American Vietnam-war aces. Flying off the USS Constellation in 1972, "Duke" shot down the famous North Vietnamese Ace "Toon" after a fierce dog-fight. Earlier in the same flight, he had "splashed" two other MiGs. I remember reading about it during my youth. I studied the techniques of the various pilots- how the Vietnamese used American rules of engagement to draw the heavy F-4s into close-in dogfights that they couldn't win, and how "Duke" adapted to the situation and came out victorious.
That a man who held such lofty stature in my child-hood (and in the pantheon of ace pilots) could make such a colossal error is important. It is a reminder that everyone is fallible, even figures who seem larger than life. Also, there is the important lesson that "power corrupts" as it was famously put by Lord Acton. Despite what they might like you to think, politicians are not human beings of superior will or moral fibre. They are ordinary people, and thus they are just as likely to fall into the traps that threaten to ensnare us all. More to this, when they do err, the lot of the nation suffers greatly because of it. Only by developing a healthy conscience and scepticism towards politicians can a citizen of a democratic state hope to maintain a just polity.
posted by The Admiral at 4:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home