Does Decency Matter?
In the Fog of War or in politics
I’m sorry. I promised to tread lightly on political discussions in 2024. It’s weeks into the new year, and that resolution is already on thin ice.
The war of “conservative” and “progressive” ideologies in recent years is just too much.
Conservatives of 1986 would have fought like hell for Ukrainian independence. Conservatives of 2023 seemingly are offering up the Ukrainian people to Russian re-education camps in exchange for lower taxes on wealthy Americans.
Progressives of earlier eras would have fought mightily for the right to free and open speech. Progressive ears in recent years are too sensitive to hear both sides of many stories in public places.
I have no energy for the ideological claptrap of capitalism, socialism, Marxism, and liberalism.
I am, however, thinking more about old-fashioned, fuzzy concepts like decency: a communal respect for everyone’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…not just to the whiff of a chance at them.
Does decency matter?
Last night I watched The Fog of War. It is a brilliant, Academy Award winning documentary on the life lessons of Robert S. McNamara, US Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968.
