A Greater Thing

What can be expected of a civilization of people led by its politicians? I watched a war movie the other day based on an actual war that had taken place. The army that the film was praising had been greatly outnumbered by their foes from the start of the story but were asked to hold out until reinforcements could be sent. Many lives were lost in terrible battles day after day. The heroes at the end were in a hopeless position and knew it but refused an order to retreat. They were asked by their commander, “why not?” His men replied, “We cannot tell you more than this: we will die before we leave here.” It seemed clear these young men had tapped into some truth beyond all words, and, so, beyond all thought, that has to do with the feeling one has for a dead comrade with whom one has struggled together and how great is that feeling. Greater it is than the love for one’s own life. That being said, how much greater a thing it is to follow than a politician and how far apart those two things are. I immediately thought of Muhammed Ali.

When we fail to see that those asking us to kill in their name are the same ones who brought us to a situation where that choice has to be made we are blind, blind in the sense of being ignorant. What can be expected of a civilization of people led by its politicians? Recall the story of the turtle who gave a snake a ride on his back across a river? “What did you expect, I’m a snake, it’s my nature, what else can I say?”