Zen and the Art of Landouts

[Doug Hoffman]

Stefan wrote:

> Jack wrote:
>
>> When a combat pilot
>
> Why oh why do "the" Americans (apologies to those who don't) have such
> high esteem for fighter pilots, killing and war? Isn't soaring about
> peace and understanding nature? And how dare you to change the subject
> line to "Zen" when you talk about war?

I believe if you think about the events that led the US into, for
example, WWII (Pearl Harbor, Hitler) it is very easy to hold those
brave US fighter pilots in the highest of esteem.

-Doug Hoffman

[Ted Wagner]

> > Why oh why do "the" Americans (apologies to those who don't) have such
> > high esteem for fighter pilots, killing and war?

Who wrote this?!

I'm a 43 y/o American who's met a whole lot of other Americans, many of them
soldiers and airmen, and I have yet to find one who holds killing in high
esteem.

I've only met one who liked war, and he got what he deserved.

All the others understood that war, and the killing that sadly comes with
it, is something you stay prepared to do, in hopes that you don't.

Thank God for American fighter pilots. To a person, they would rather fly
gliders in peacetime than anything in combat. The world is freer, happier
and more peaceful place because of them.

'The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do
nothing.' -- Edmund Burke

-tw

[Tony Verhulst]

Ted Wagner wrote:
>>>Why oh why do "the" Americans (apologies to those who don't) have such
>>>high esteem for fighter pilots, killing and war?
>
>
> Who wrote this?!
>
> I'm a 43 y/o American who's met a whole lot of other Americans, many of them
> soldiers and airmen, and I have yet to find one who holds killing in high
> esteem.
>
> I've only met one who liked war....


I assume that you were never in the military. I've seen plenty of those
guys. During my basic training, we had a guy who'd been in the Air Force
and had spent a year in Vietnam. He didn't have enough "fun" in the Air
Force so he quit and joined the Army - so he could go back and have some
real fun ("I love that ****" - his exact words). I had a company
commander who did a 'Nam tour flying medevac helicopters and the last
thing he wanted to be was a stateside company commander and was pulling
all the strings he could to get back and get more action. I'll stop here
but I have many more examples. I never understood those guys, I had no
desire to go.

The US Marines Corps used have a recruiting commercial that ended with
the slogan "Nobody likes to fight, but somebody has to". I understand
that the last part is true. I know that the first part is bull****.

Sorry for being off topic.

Tony V. "6N"