Is a Good Military Man Hard to Find?

A discussion arose last night about the status of the military in the minds of Americans. From Washington to MacArthur it appears to be quite high. MacArthur even emerges from Korea with favor--even after being removed by Truman. Whatever happened, happened in the '60's, with its understandable opposition to a mindless war diffidently fought. And each event was meticulously dissected by an omnipresent and hostile press. The military, widely regarded around the world, began to slip from the American esteem; on campuses it became the enemy. Colleges, defended by these very soldiers, refused to allow the military to recruit on campus and this bizarre decision was accepted as reasonable and honorable. Recruitment for the war itself was reduced to a lottery, a matter not of duty but of luck.

Things seem changed. Now, when politicians discuss some military question, one waits for the military man to speak who you know will be bright and honest. The close watching press, "embedded" in the military side like a tick, shows the conflicts in a better light because the caliber of men is so high they cannot avoid it. No one approved of Rolling Stone's mishandling of General McCrystal recently and every pundit mourned his loss.

Historically the military man was usually the leader--or about to become him. When the Americans set the government up, some anxiety clearly existed over this possible problem of leader and army so that civilian control over the military--which worked so poorly in Vietnam--could protect the republic from the expression of military influence. There is no reason why this can not work. Several military leaders have become civilian leaders from Washington on. And the man's qualities will always be the great filter on his actions.

But actions count and conflict is a wonderful place to see the real man. (Perhaps a reason why violent sports are so popular in this country is our need to see real men.) Aeschylus, the greatest Greek playwright and one of the world's two best, wrote over 90 plays and was considered by his time to be the inventor of tragedy and an enhancer of Greek culture at a time when it had no rival. When he died there was no mention of his art on his gravestone; it said only "Marathon Warrior."