Peggy Noonan MEGA PING!!
Posted on 07/25/2002 9:06:41 PM PDT by Pokey78
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:04:40 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
We live through an Agincourt a day, yet life goes on.
I am thinking about the moment in history in which we are immersed, and as usual my mind turns to the words of a great writer of the movies. In Robert Bolt's screenplay of "Doctor Zhivago," Lara and Zhivago, near the end of their drama, are huddled at his family's old estate in the Ural Mountains, waiting for the local Bolsheviks to descend. All seems lost, all exits blocked. The wolves of the forest howl with foreboding. Lara comes awake in the night and begins to weep. "This is a terrible time to be alive," she says. "Oh no, no," says Zhivago in all his innocence and belief. "It is a wonderful time to be alive." Life itself, whatever the circumstances, is good; it is a miracle no matter what.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Peggy is right, however. We have more information and events than we can assimilate. I think her idea of keeping notes is an excellent one.
"We'd come together to battle the asteroid, pooling our best talent and sharing our genius, wouldn't we?"
She got this wrong. It'll be the Americans taking care of it. Possibly the British, Russians and Germans will help out in some way.
That's what bloggers are for...
From the google cache for http://home.earthlink.net/~cva/agincourt.htm, this about Battle of Agincourt:
Agincourt, Battle of, military engagement during the Hundred Years' War, fought in France on October 25, 1415, between an English army under King Henry V of England and a French one under Charles d'Albret, constable of France.
Prior to the action, which took place in a narrow valley near the village of Agincourt (now Azincourt, in Pas-de-Calais Department), Henry, a claimant to the French throne, had invaded France and seized the port of Harfleur.At the time of the action, Henry's army, weakened by disease and hunger, was en route to Calais, from which Henry planned to embark for England. In the course of the march to Calais the English force, which numbered about 6000 men, for the most part lightly equipped archers, was intercepted by d'Albret, whose army of about 25,000 men consisted chiefly of armored cavalry and infantry contingents. The English king, fearful of annihilation, sought a truce with the French, but his terms were rejected.
In the battle, which was preceded by heavy rains, the French troops were at a disadvantage because of their weighty armor, the narrowness of the battleground, the muddy terrain, and the faulty tactics of their superiors, notably in using massed formations against a mobile enemy. The French cavalry, which occupied frontal positions, quickly became mired in the mud, making easy targets for the English archers.
After routing the enemy cavalry, the English troops, wielding hatchets, billhooks (a type of knife), and swords, launched successive assaults on the French infantry. Demoralized by the fate of their cavalry and severely hampered by the mud, the French foot soldiers were completely overwhelmed. D'Albret, several dukes and counts, and about 500 other members of the French nobility were killed; other French casualties totaled about 5000. English losses numbered fewer than 200 men.
French feudal military strategy, traditionally based on the employment of heavily armored troops and cavalry, was completely discredited by Henry's victory. Although Henry returned to England after Agincourt, his triumph paved the way for English domination of most of France until the middle of the 15th century.
What an absolutely elegant description of this writing! You truly captured the essence of it with that phrasing!
ROTFL!! She has SUCH a way with words!!
It just doesn't seem over yet. There is a suspense in the air that doesn't lift; I cannot help but wonder if we have done enough, if our covert and overt operatives have found enough information to prevent the next attack. It isn't like living under what I would imagine a bombardment is like, or how the Anne Franks of Europe felt while holed up in an attic. It's more a sense in the air, a feeling of wonder: Will another attacker get through? To me that is the best descriptor of the times. And until that sense of wariness can leave us, we are, in a sense, hostages to the unknown abilities, will, and way of the terrorists.
An event even bigger than the fall of Soviet Union may be on the horizon. Events of today could be leading to it.
Perhaps you got it wrong. I am not talking about Appcalypse or the Second Coming of Jesus. Economies may collapse and people may die en mass. But not the end of world.
What a great description of the Gore-on
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