Typewriter Rambos and ‘War Wimps’
The winds of war seem to be blowing again. These are the winds that fan the flames of pseudo-patriotism and raise McCarthyite rhetoric to a fever pitch. This is the rhetoric that attempts to intimidate patriotic Americans who are critically concerned about the course that the present leaders of our country are taking.
Ironically, among those who feel the jingoistic spirit are men who, though of military age when America was at war, never served in our country’s armed forces.
Rep. Andrew Jacobs (D-Ind.), a combat Marine officer in the Korean War, has a special contempt for such men and has coined a name for them. He calls them “War Wimps.”
Among those he so categorized are columnist George Will and White House Communications Director Patrick Buchanan. They wave the flag more than does the congressman. But the major difference between them is that the congressman put his life on the line for his country. That’s more than can be said for the typewriter Rambos.
This is a good time to pause and go back and read a great essay written by a great American, Mark Twain. It is called “The War Prayer.”
ART KAPLAN
Laguna Hills
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