Two And A Half

November 11. Honor me. Horse shit.

I remember being out side a whore house in Sattahip and walking through a massive crowd of relatively small children most if not all under the age of eight. Several of us throwing change, mostly pennys, and watching the kids run from one spot to the other chasing after them. It seemed quite funny at the time.

So what is two and a half? Easy the number of war that we fought that can be called just or good:

The Revolutionary War. Probably if only because of the fact that it inspired others to try to create democracies around. It still inspires I say. Of course, we did have to keep our slaves you see.

The Civil War. That would be the half. Let's face it the destruction of slavery was a great thing, but then we were fighting against ourselves, so there you are half a just war at best.

World War II. That seems to be the one shining example and one that everybody holds out as a really good war. Although, probably good isn't the correct word, perhaps just fits it better. Maybe nearly necessary. The problem is that we have decided that we were on the side of the angels that time and that therefore, we are always on the side of the angels. (I always have a time figuring out how to spell angels and often I misspell it with an le, but that would probably have been right to.)

If one argues that the Spanish American War helped our little brown friends get out from under the Spanish yoke. I'd suggest reading Mark Twain about that. The Mexican American War, I'd go with Grant on that (or read the entire Autobiography, it is very good). Perhaps the Korean Conflict (not war don't you know). I'm not sure that the eventual outcome forty years later justifies any war. The others pointless (1812) or variations of colonial adventures. Let's face it the Indian Wars were real colonial wars, instead of doing what the English and French did we did what the Israelis are trying to do now. Kill 'em all and then just move in. It was nearly impossible even in the nineteenth century.

So there you have it over 200 years and just two and a half just wars, in a nation that calls itself peaceful, but has been at war for almost all of its existence.

Oh yea, around the corner from where I live there is a sign up that says: "Welcome home Vietnam Vets." I am beginning to think that we will never stop fighting that war and trying to justify it to ourselves. "Me think the lady doth protest too much[?]"