fighting totalitarianism, Obama, and the Boy Scouts

So my kid went and saw 'Valkyrie' starring Tom Cruise as General Claus v. Moonbeam errr Stauffenberg. It also features 'Priscilla queen of the desert' as one of the conspirators. Wow, maybe we could some of the guys from Braveheart!

I've not seen it nor have I any intention of doing so. I got burned on 'Enemy at the Gates'. It is one of the best war epice I've ever read, but the movie...........uggh. And what is my tangential association between the two? Well, much has been made between the purported resemblance between Cruise and Stauffenberg. I have to chuckle. BUT Jude Law (who was in Enemy at the Gates), could have an uglier brother in Stauffenberg.

Anyway, the story surrounds a group of German 'patriots' that try to kill Der Fuhrer before he leads Germany to ruin. Nice sentiment, but a load of crap. By summer 1944 (when this took place) the war was already over for the Germans. The Americans were hung up on unconditional surrender, and the Brits were largely obliged to do what we did at that point. But all of that meant nothing. The Soviet juggernaut had already been in full force since the Summer of 1943. All that remained to be determined was how far west the Soviets would get. Germany was already doomed. While it is true that the Americans beat the Japanese single-handedly, we were a secondary player in Europe. The Soviets inflicted 85% of all the military casualties that the Germans experienced. (The Americans covered the gap in civilian casualties with such niceties as the firebombing of Dresden). The American campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and finally France diverted how many German divisions from the Eastern Front. None.......yup nothing. During the siege of Leningrad alone, in the battle for just one city, they lost more people than the U.S. did during the entire war both in Europe and the Pacific. It is true that we sent the Soviets equipment, food, fuel, etc.through Murmansk and we paid a high price for it in ships and crews. But we were just helping the Soviets who did the vast majority of the fighting.

What was I supposed to be writing about? Oh yeah, fighting totalitarianism. The time to shut down Hitler was back in the late 30's. But since the German army was at most complicit, and at the least inactive, during Hitler's ascendance they are somewhat responsible. They all thought Hitler was just swell through the Fall of 1941 when they were unbeaten. The writing was already on the wall in 1937 and they failed to act.

There was a Soviet Field Marshall by the name of Mikhail Tukhachevsky that tried to do something about it in 1937. His plan was to use Polish and Czech ground troops supported by Soviets tanks, paratroopers, and air (the largest air force in the world at the time). He presented his case to Stalin and was purged and executed for his trouble. Perhaps he should have brought a bomb to one of the staff meetings with Uncle Joe?

Which leads me to Obama. There is a passage in the Tao te Ching that reads: "when the people no longer fear your power, it is a sign that a greater power is coming". Obviously this nation is still divided by race and class. Bush exploited it twice to get elected. It is a common tactic of psychological warfare to create inner dissent and mistrust. I see it a little different. This battle is not one of race, nor wealth (and the 'class' that is implied). It is a battle between those who wish this country to be strong again and those that are adrift and are too stupid to realize it.

Some people refer to it as a 'moral' center. I prefer the term 'ethical', since morality is so often defined by those with extreme positions. We need to return to principles of fairness, civility, and striving for a larger goal. Our nation was united during WWII. Both black and white united for a greater cause. Even the military desegregated long before the rest of society did.

There is not racism in the Army since everyone is the same color......green. (Of course the black-green guys always ended up cleaning the latrines while the white-green guys rested for about 30 years). I believe that Obama is the right man for this country. He embodies the American ideals of effort and struggle paying off. Of course, only time will tell.

And finally scouting. I read an article today that bemoans the fact that scouting has become a club for white middle-class suburbia and their push to include mor Hispanics. To all the 'Silver Beavers' out there I'll say this slowly and easy to comprehend words. Scouting is a waste of time. At least in what it has evolved into. It has tried too hard and too long to 'reach out' to 'include' that it has become diluted down and irrelevant.

Scouting was formed to improve the quality of military conscripts. What's wrong with that? Today's soldiers don't need to know twenty different knots perhaps, but the lessons to be learned in wilderness situations abound. There lessons in dealing with the elements. They can learn how to manage fatigue and hunger. There are lessons of reliance on everyone doing their job. There are opportunities for real leadership to EMERGE and not be assigned. Merit badges, skill awards, are a waste of time. Instead of garish patches for attendance at some bulls**t Jamborall (or an equally ridiculous Eagle project) we can have a small button that shows they completed a 50 mile hike through wilderness, or a winter camp which involved more than building snow huts in the parking lot.

Our scouts did just such a thing a few summers back. They went on a fifty mile loop that crossed the spine of the Uintas twice. I was not able to go with them when they did. I did hike in about 4 miles the last day and met up with them at their final camp. I knew that they would be in pretty tough shape by then and thought the worst. I also suspected that they were going to veer of the planned route and cut cross country to the final campsite. They didn't disappoint me. They emerged about 80 meters and 30 minutes late into a meadow I knew they would end up in. Some of them thought it was a miracle I knew. Nope, just good map skills and undertanding the nature of covering territory, especially when you are tired.

They were loud enough that I was able to shift my position such that I was hiding behind a tree and was able to jump out and say 'boo'. at the prceise moment they left the forest. (Perhaps a later blog will deal with how to avoid being ambushed). I was very pleased to see their line was tight and moving and there was no dissension or bickering. I suspect some real lessons had been learned. Of course, I gave them another lesson, the need for salty-ass food when on the trail. I ported in two grocery bags filled to the brim with Chips and Doritos. Within five minutes they had all been eaten. And I only had to yell at one dumb-ass to pick up the bags.