Posted on 02/27/2003 4:04:27 AM PST by RJCogburn
Those who oppose war with Iraq—from foreign heads of state to homegrown antiwar protesters—employ a common expression of contempt for the American war effort. America, they sneer, is acting like a "cowboy."
A mock interview with Saddam Hussein conducted by a European intellectual is written to show, in one news report's summary, "what out-of-control cowboys the Americans are." A recent New York Times article explains that to some Europeans the "major problem is Bush the cowboy." U.S. Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut agrees, stating that America must not "act like a unilateral cowboy."
These smears imply that the heyday of the cowboy in the Old West was a lawless period when trigger-happy gunmen shot it out with reckless abandon and brute force reigned.
But to most Americans, the cowboy is not a villain but a hero. What we honor about the cowboy of the Old West is his willingness to stand up to evil and to do it alone, if necessary. The cowboy is a symbol of the crucial virtues of courage and independence.
The original cowboys were hard-working ranchers and settlers who tamed a vast wilderness. In the process, they had to contend with violent outlaws as well as warlike Indian tribes. The honest men on the frontier did not wring their hands in fear, uncertainty and moral paralysis; they stood up to evil men and defeated them.
The Texas Rangers—a small band of lawmen who patrolled a vast frontier—best exemplified the cowboy code. Whether they fought American outlaws, Mexican bandits or marauding Comanches, they were generally outnumbered, sometimes by as much as fifty to one. It was said of them: "They were men who could not be stampeded." For example, when Ranger officer John B. Armstrong boarded a train in pursuit of the infamous murderer John Wesley Hardin, he was confronted by five desperadoes. Armstrong took them on single-handed, killing one and capturing Hardin. In describing their independence and courage, Ranger captain Bob Crowder said: "A Ranger is an officer who is able to handle any situation without definite instructions from his commanding officer or higher authority."
The real-life courage of such heroes has been properly memorialized and glorified in countless fictional works. The Lone Ranger television show, Jack Schaefer's classic novel, Shane, and dozens of John Wayne movies, among others, have captured the essence of the Western hero's character: his unshakeable moral confidence in the face of evil. It is this vision of the cowboy, not the European slander, that Americans find inspiring. That's why, when President Bush said of Osama bin Laden, "Wanted: Dead or Alive," most Americans cheered.
The only valid criticism of President Bush, in this context, is that he is not true enough to the heritage of the Lone Star State. When the Texas Rangers went after a bank robber or rustler, they didn't wait to ask the permission of his fellow gang members. Yet Bush is asking permission from a U.N. Security Council that includes Syria, one of the world's most active sponsors of terrorism.
Today the terrorists responsible for blowing up our cities are far more evil than the bandits and gunmen faced by the heroes of the Old West. To defeat them, we will require all the more the cowboy's virtues of independence and moral courage.
Even as our European critics use the "cowboy" image as a symbol of reckless irresponsibility, they implicitly reveal the real virtues they are attacking. European leaders assail Americans because our "language is far too blunt" and because we see the struggle between Western Civilization and Islamic fanaticism in "black-and-white certainties." They whine about our "Texas attitude" and whimper that "an American president who makes up his mind and then will accept no argument" is a greater danger than murderous dictators. In short, they object to America's willingness to face the facts, to make moral judgments, to act independently, and to battle evil with unflinching courage.
These European critics are worse than the timid shopkeeper in an old Hollywood Western. They don't merely want to avoid confronting evil—they seek to prevent anyone else from recognizing evil and standing up to it.
Texas Ranger captain Bill McDonald reputedly stated: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that is in the right and keeps on a-comin'." If America fully embraces this cowboy wisdom and courage, then the Islamic terrorists and the regimes that support them had better run for cover. They stand no chance in the resulting showdown.
Neither did Rand herself: "The use of force -- even its defensive use -- cannot be left to the discretion of individual citizens," she wrote in an essay reprinted in her book The Virtue of Selfishness.
Bernstein is besotted with the open-frontier cowboy image because he's writing a novel set in that era. I have met the man, and he is one of the most crabbed, abusive, and intellectually abysmal persons I have ever had to witness in public speaking -- and an atrocious representative of what is valid in Rand's philosophy.
Sound familiar? That story resonated with Americans in the 50's and still does. Every individual has a core image of him or herself, and so does every nation. I honestly cannot tell you what that image is for an Englishman, a German, of a Frenchman. In the case of the latter two, what had been their image of themselves has, I think, been stamped out and lost. Most Americans haven't yet, thank G*d, lost ours.
Foreigners (and their sympathizers of the American left) can disparage the word "cowboy" all they want, but they do not understand that the image of the lone cowboy standing up for good against all odds is our mythic image of what an American should be. Therefore, they are making a huge mistake if they think that calling G.W. Bush a "cowboy" is going to somehow make him less popular with most Americans. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.
You know, If I had heard things from the European great unwashed like this in 1999, I might have more respect for your arguments now.
So, Mr. Old World voice of reason and restraint, riddle me this:
A) How many UN violations did the Republic of Yugoslavia violate for 12 years?
B) How many aggressive wars did Yugolslavia launch against her neighbors? (Military action by NGO paramilitaries or within the pre 1991 borders of Yugoslavia don't count.)
C) What was the final count of the final UN Sec. Council Resolution authorizing the use of Force to achieve the ends of prior UNSC resolutions on Kosovo?
You see, buddy, this is what really Gauls us about the "Principled stand" the europeans are taking on Iraq; to many of us ignaorant and boorish Amis, it sure looks a lot more like hypocrisy than "a principled stand" to us. Oh well, I guess that's just because we don;t have the depth of sophistication that your culture has produced, right?
You see, buddy, we don't really give a rat's heinie what you twerps think. You have no moral standing with us now. You practically joined Monica on her knees to get our then Pervert-in-Chief to carry your water in Kosovo; and sure did'nt go to the UN then. You came to the Marshall, and he dutifully took care of business.
We are not asking you to spend one gram of explosives, one drop of jet fuel, or one drop of blood to help us to deal with a man that has'nt complied with a ceasefire he begged for, the UN agreed to and then was promptly fiddled with for 12 years. Just shut the F**k up--Lead, follow, or stay out of the way.
We took care of you many times during the last century. Now you don't even have the decency to quietly roll your eyes at us "cowbays" and stay silent. Many of us won't forget this apalling lack of gratitude, decency, or simple recognition of what a true friend thinks is important.
I don;t really expect a reply; you will either be banned or not try to defend an indefensible position.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.