I love America; I love Americans. They are a wonderful people, but they have gone seriously awry. But sometimes they are seriously misguided. And when that happens a friend should be able to say that to the friend. This is one of those times. It is not enough to claim that you are honorable—you have to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Honor used to be an important value among Conservatives—genuine conservatives I mean. But increasingly among modern conservatives at least, honor is no longer important.
When Donald Trump realized what he had done in letting loose the Turks on his allies the Kurds, and realized that to some of his supporters, honor still meant something, this is what he announced, by tweet of course:
“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I in my great and unmatched wisdom consider off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the economy of Turkey (I’ve done before)”
Stephen Colbert described this as Trump going “full God Emperor.” This is on a level with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. But ignore the incoherence of this quote. Ignore the corrupt and idle boasting. Just look for the honor. You won’t find it. This is what America elected as their President. A man without honor! And 63 million Americans seem to like it. Does that mean American without honor too?
I don’t accept that Americans can blame it all on an ill chosen President. 63 million people voted for this one and I have been told most of those who did, still support him. This is not an issue about Trump. He is too easy a target. But what about the country? It is not as if Donald Trump ever concealed his lack of honor. He boasted about. He said that in the Vietnam War he served by managing to avoid getting a venereal disease. Then he dismissed John McCain as a poor war hero because he got caught. Trump escaped the Vietnam War the way many rich boys did, by getting dubious health deferments as a result of alleged bone spurs, so that he could stay behind and chase models and starlets, while other young men and women, usually poor men and women, risked their lives and fought the war. Americans knew exactly what they were getting, and although 66 million voted for Hillary Clinton, 63 million voted for him. That is no aberrant number. That is a lot of support. This is where the problem lies. Trump himself is easy prey, but not 66 million Americans. Is the country without honor? I think it is time for Americans to step up and be counted. I think it is time for Americans to think about this.
kind sir:
really? conservatives once had honour? which ones? i only time i hear americans talk about honour is when they talk about their military and we know what they have been up to for a century and a half at least.
the country just recently went awry?
it is certainly less complicated to simply blame the petty little dictator. african americans have called for a reckoning for a couple of centuries. this turkey has been around for 3 years.
come on now. let’s have another look, a longer look, at the history of the yanqui.
While no one is perfect, except you and me, I liked some of the things about John McCain. For example, how he and some other Republicans paid Richard Nixon a visit when Congress was considering impeaching him. They told him the gig was up and it was time to resign and he did. No current Republican seems to have the courage and test honour to do that today. The country has been awry before but in the last couple of years it is has seemed to spiral out of control. Abandoning the Kurds is a deep low. I also agree that Americans have never fessed up to African Americans and Indigenous Americans and until they do that the are doomed.
I know American history is filled with much that is blameworthy e.g.slavery, genocide of Indigenous Americans, countless interference with independent countries around the world in particular Latin and Central America etc
but unlike you I do not believe that the conservative camp is entirely devoid of truth or honour. For a non-military example, I offer Bret Stephens a conservative opinionated in the New York Times. I often disagree with him, probably more often than I agree but I believe he does have honour . This is how he recently described Republican leaders who continue to support Trump no matter what:
“There are people who believe that law, morality, traditions and institutions are at least as important to the preservation of freedom as the will of the people. Such people are called conservative. What Republicans are now doing with their lock step opposition to impeachment — and with their indifference to the behavior that brought impeachment about — is not conservative. It is the abdication of principle to power.”
I think this is an example of conservatism at its finest.