He wanted to give diplomacy every chance. BUT . . . when it was time to fight, he was ferocious . . . even scarey. I like to picture myself acting just so . . with my students right beside me!
Now I can hear someone scream, "But his son died because he drug his heals!!) True, his young son had to die before he jumped into the fray, but his reluctance to fight was not the cause of his young son's death. His son died because he acted rashly and because of the brutality of the Red Coat commander.
Speaking of war, a good analogy just occured to me:
Our adversary in Iraq is using lots of suicide bombers and road side bombs. Should we "fight fire with fire"? Should we start annihilating villages that support insurgents? Should we send in select troops on suicide missions to blow themselves up in a crowd of suspected insurgents to demoralize them? Why not?reductio ad absurdum--"illustrating absurdity by being absurd"
His son died because he was killed, not because he decided to wear the uniform of our nation when he father told him not to fight.
That basic lesson lost on you, every human make their own path in life no matter what the wishes of the parents are.
His son's sacrifice shamed Gibson's character into action.
The romance of war never survives the first taste of it.
As for American suicide bombers, in truth the first Kamikazes were those members of Torpedo 8 that flew into the slaughter of Midway at the hands of japanese gunners. We created the first Kamikazes, the japanese only fashioned them after our examples.
"Remember how agonizing it was for the family in Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" to decide what to do? The hotheads were anxious to go to war, but not ol' Mel's character."
The ONLY movie I've seen, in this century,
was "We Were Soldiers"
Why, because I have a lot of admiration
for for the Brothers
who had it rougher than I did in Viet Nam.
And while I appreciate your efforts in
teaching the next generation realize
that the next generation learn from my example,
and how I found a way to serve my country again
and at zero cost to the government.
You see I've managed to be successful
in my profession
(not rich by any means, but successful and pay taxes)
AND make time each and every week
to serve along side, and in many cases,
actually replace active duty personnel.
That's the key to setting an example
of just what a conservative really is.
You really can't teach someone what to do or think.
Just set an example for them and hope they follow.
SO then, you are saying that it is not ok to fight until your son is murdered in cold blood?
Maybe your son did not, but 3000 people did die because of a hope to use diplomacy in dealing with those that hate us.
Let's see some of your savagery come out in something stronger than a battle of wits.