An interesting, if President Bush-Serving article by David Brooks at the New York Times today. Basically he is exploring how we as a nation view the military. His first point is a little silly, which is the idea that we either love the Military or loath the military; those are our only two options. I am pretty sure that our emotions towards the military are a bit more shaded than that.
His second point that, while those who loathe the military are full of crap, it may not be much more healthy to worship the military. As he puts it:
"When the military is in ill repute, we ask too little of it. When it is admired, we ask too much. Now, for example, many people seem to think that military experience is the key to foreign policy judgment and national leadership.
But I can't help noticing that John F. Kennedy, who knew something about heroism, didn't look to military heroes when he was contemplating the crisis of his times. In his book "Profiles in Courage," he celebrated senators. The courage he investigated wasn't military courage at all. It was political courage, which requires a different set of traits."
The problem is that Future President Kerry's decision to serve in combat conditions and Current President Bush's decisions to avoid service in combat conditions aren't significant in showing how these gentlemen make foreign policy decisions. They are important, however, how how they reflect character. Whether you like it or not, President Bush avoided combat by entering the Guard (we all know that wouldn't work today but it did work back then). Senator Kerry chose to go to war and to serve in combat conditions. You need to make your own decision on how significant those choices were, but to me they reveal the character of the two men involved.
As a sideline, an astute cultural observer like Mr. Brooks could hardly be blind to the fact that Republicans have been attacking Liberals as unpatriotic and unmanly. Future President Kerry's service makes those particular charges hard to apply (not that they aren't going to try anyway).
Edited for accuracy due to comments in a note below.
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