President Obama ordered flags be flown at half staff. Governors of many, if not all, states ordered the same.
Obviously what happened Thursday at Ft. Hood was a tragedy. Just as obviously, Sgt. Kimberly Munley who got shot while taking Hasan out is a hero. So are others who helped the wounded as the firing continued. So, flying the flag at half staff seems a reasonable tribute to the fallen and the heroes. But…
Why isn’t the flag flown at half mast for the soldiers killed or wounded daily in combat? Don’t they deserve the same tribute for their sacrifice? Aren’t their injuries and deaths just as tragic under their heroic circumstances? Or has the flow of coffins from overseas been too steady from unpopular wars for us to even bother with… them?
I do feel we should be honoring those who died, were wounded and took action under fire at Ft. Hood. I just wonder what it says that we don’t accord the same to the others.
#27, Bobbo,
“The future is so bright, I gotta wear shades!===Now who stole my sun glasses????”
Don’t think I’ve seen ’em. What do they look like?
8)
#31–Fusion==of course, they are “Aviation” Glasses, automatic tint shading, with the clipon Nuclear Blast Shield. I wear them to all dental exams.
Actually, in training my instructor told me “good pilots don’t wear glasses, we squint. What happens if you are in a dog fight and your glasses fall off?”
So I squinted for a few years until I got transports. I figured if I lost my glasses on the shitter, I can tell the loadmaster to look around for them.
#30, Bobbo,
You make a good point about “heroes” are such for simply doing their job. I don’t argue there. Please don’t attach any importance to the order in my list. I missed so many other important heroes like Marconi, ML King, and Ghandi.
But what about when they go beyond their job, such as volunteering to sit on top of tens of thousands of pounds of extremely explosive propellant while someone lights it on fire? And you don’t even have a mini fire extinguisher or emergency exit in your “capsule”.
Or going to bat for the “people” instead of the corporate robber barons. Especially when it would have been so easy to enrich yourself in the process.
Or sharing your discoveries with the world so so many lives can be saved. Did you know Fleming never patented penicillin?
Heroes are those who were killed during the Civil Rights era or fed to the dogs during marches.
Heroes are those who were jailed for wanting peace during a war.
Mr Fusion–step up your game. I told you why astronauts/scientists are not heroes. Re read my post and if the salient point escapes you again, repost, and I will restate and amplify.
Likewise, you continue with me in identifying untold thousands of unknown people who worked for equal rights in the 50-60’s, Mississippi Burning and all. “Most Hereo’s go Unknown.”
Most heroes today are foisted on the slobbering masses as infotainment and divertisement.
I work for a school in New York. Anytime a solder from NY is killed, all NY schools lower the flag to half-staff. I thought that is how it was accross the country…
Bobbo,
Most heroes today are foisted on the slobbering masses as infotainment and divertisement.
Yes but no.
Yes they are given to us, like it or not. Foisted as you suggest. We accept them because we search for heroes. Throughout history we have searched for our heroes. Deep inside (I assume) we crave heroes.
Hercules and Thor. Francis Drake tweaking Spain’s nose. Robinson Crusoe surviving loneliness with his British ingenuity. Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, and Pat Garrison rounded up the bad guys. Kit Carson and Alexander MacKenzie survived the wilderness, grizzly bears, and Indians. And the smartest man to ever live, Sherlock Holmes. And all were heroes in literature and lore.
As kids we bought Superman comic books. He never failed to do what was right.
We watched Rambo overcome great odds to survive. We were proud of a simple police officer who wouldn’t Die Hard. We followed a band of Hobbits, Men, Dwarfs, Elves, Goblins, Orcs and Wizards until evil was destroyed.
We insert ourselves into the role of hero in computer games.
We want our heroes.
*
Contrary to what many posters might believe, police are NOT required to get shot on the job. They are actively encouraged NOT to get shot as that takes them out of the picture.
Firemen are trained to leave buildings about to collapse. Dead firemen can’t man the hoses.
Soldiers are trained to reduce the potential of harm as much as possible. Injured soldiers on the battlefield is a liability.
Disobeying orders makes for dead fools more than it does heroes. (I can just picture doill responding about thinking “outside the box” on this point)
Actually I think we are closer in agreement than you give us credit for. But hey, my wife claims I’m noted for my looks, not my brains. (or was it my brains, not my looks???)
I completely agree with Dvorak. If you think the flag should be flown at half mast when a soldier is shot by a disturbed individual, but not when a soldier dies in combat, explain how that does not demean their service to their country.
Fusion–no, I don’t think we are close as you keep going back to restate, but not reargue, your point summarizing the above that “we” need heroes. Who is this “we” you speak of???
You sound like ammarammadingdong now, desperately wanting to believe in imaginary fictions. At least YOU are closer in starting with actual human beings, but you must see how quickly you depart into fantasy, misdirection, and different subjects all together.
Along the lines of literary criticism, you are demonstrably confusing “the hero” with “the anti-hero.” Rambo may get our juices flowing, but he is no hero. He is a hunted rat. He fights solely for his own values, kills innocent people for his own inability to “fit in.” Could have used his skills to evade and escape, used them to confront and kill instead. No Hero.
Die Hard==another trapped rat. More heroic than Rambo but still a trapped rat. What you gonna do when people are shooting at you??????
Last “Hero” I saw was Clint Eastwood in “Absolute Power.” Too Hollywood when he went to see his daughter, but otherwise he put himself at risk in order to do the right thing. Same with Tom Berringer in one of the Sniper flicks.
The fact that we don’t care about our disagreement doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You are more “traditionally” patriotic than I am. Thats “ok” as you don’t push it on other people.
Just because you admire someone doesn’t make them a hero. And that makes me wonder: can I name a “hero” that I don’t admire?????? I’m thinking. I’ll post back if someone turns up.
#38–David==its an issue of human psychology. Flags are flown at half staff in order to “draw attention” to a subject. You can’t draw attention to a subject 365 days a year.
Demeaning something requires positive action to do so==not an inference from no action at all.
Stop salivating.
Stupid question.
#39, Bobbo,
Who is this “we” you speak of???
304,999,999 Americans. I guess you disagree with the rest.
At least YOU are closer in starting with actual human beings, but you must see how quickly you depart into fantasy, misdirection, and different subjects all together.
Three of the first four I suggested in #37 are fictional characters. The next five were so romanticized in the pulp, dime novels of the late 1800s fact and fiction are one. And Sherlock Holmes is probably the most famous fictional character after Jesus H. Christ.
Wanting heroes and wanting our heroes to succeed has been with us since man first started telling stories around the campfire.
The American Heritage Dictionary
It appears your mileage differs.
#42–Fusion==so in both of our approaches/concepts/proferred definitions, the soldiers killed at Ft Hood were not hereos.
How about the firefighters of 911? I say they are closer to victims or employees than hereos. You?