Thoughts on Veterans Day

On Veterans Day we pay tribute to all American veterans, living or dead, and reflect on the sacrifices and service of veterans and our commitment to programs that support them.  President Obama proclaimed, “Our grateful Nation must keep our solemn promises to these brave men and women and their families. They have given their unwavering devotion to the American people, and we must keep our covenant with them.”  It is absolutely right and essential to honor our veterans and to focus on the support our government and communities provide them.  However, I think this singular focus neglects one of the larger themes originally envisioned for Veterans Day—peace.

Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day, commemorating the armistice between the Allies and Germany that ended fighting on the Western Front in World War I on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.  16 million people (military and civilians) died in World War I, of which 118,000 were Americans.  H.G. Wells called it the war that will end war, a phrase later adopted by President Wilson. But in the aftermath of the war, Armistice Day was intended to promote the ideal of perpetual peace as much as to honor veterans.  President Wilson first proclaimed the holiday in 1919 saying, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”Congress first recognized it in 1926 as a day “to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations” and later in 1938 made it a legal holiday “dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

There were 63 million deaths in World War II (419,000 from the United States), and 4.5 million deaths in the Korean War (37,000 from the United States).  World War I had not, in fact, been the war to end all wars, and world peace remains an ideal rather than a reality.  In 1953 an Emporia, Kansas, shoe store owner had the very reasonable idea that Armistice Day should commemorate all veterans and not just those of World War I. Congress agreed and in 1954 Armistice Day became Veterans Day.

Many would say that perpetual peace is impossible. My hope is that it is not.  There are many different ideas on how to ensure peace, including peace through strength.  At least for the near future military power is a reality and, if used judiciously, can further the cause of world peace and security.  In that sense, it is important to honor veterans and have in place systems to support them.

My worry is that in focusing solely on these issues on Veterans Day we are implicitly and silently giving our consent to the idea that there will always be war and combat, that we will always need more soldiers to fight more wars and more systems to support them.  My hope is that we do not consent to this, and that we also acknowledge a sincere hope for peace.  In 1969 in his Silent Majority Speech President Nixon said regarding the Vietnam War, “Fifty years ago, in this room and at this very desk, President Woodrow Wilson spoke words which caught the imagination of a war-weary world. He said: ‘This is the war to end war.’ His dream for peace after World War I was shattered on the hard realities of great power politics and Woodrow Wilson died a broken man. Tonight I do not tell you that the war in Vietnam is the war to end wars. But I do say this: I have initiated a plan which will end this war in a way that will bring us closer to that great goal to which Woodrow Wilson and every American President in our history has been dedicated-the goal of a just and lasting peace.”  In recent years Dennis Kucinich has been largely ridiculed for proposing the creation of a Department of Peace (an idea first proposed by Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, in 1793).  It seems now that we may not even believe in a just and lasting peace.

It is fashionable and seems a prerequisite when running for elected office to proclaim American exceptionalism, that America is the greatest nation on Earth, or is ordained by God to do good.  Leaving aside the merits of those claims it seems that, at a minimum, for them to be true we should hold peace as an ideal and work toward achieving it.  If we as a nation do not believe in peace, then those claims are certainly not true and never will be. On Veterans Day I hope that in addition to honoring veterans, we also recommit to our desire for peace and encourage our leaders to use military power wisely.

 

Angelina Jolie as Cleopatra

A lot of people seem to be upset with Angelina Jolie being cast as Cleopatra in an upcoming movie.   Most of this criticism seems to be about Jolie’s skin color, that she is not black enough to play Cleopatra. I am sympathetic to issues of accurately portraying cultural heritage, and the appropriation of black roles by white actors. The controversy about the whiteness of the actors in The Last Airbender, for example, seems to be somewhat justified. Leading minority roles are rare enough in Hollywood that they should be given to culturally appropriate actors, and the default for movie characters should not be white.  

Dr. Ashton's Cleopatra vs. Angelina Jolie

 

The trouble with the Cleopatra issue is that I just don’t believe she was very dark-skinned.  Jezebel, for example, bases this argument on a computer-generated image historical project done for a TV miniseries.  Dr. Ashton says of Cleopatra, “She probably wasn’t just completely European. You’ve got to remember that her family had actually lived in Egypt for 300 years by the time she came to power.”  Based on this assumption and some other sources, Dr. Ashton’s computer image (of which I am always skeptical) of Cleopatra is very dark-skinned.  

Fayum mummy portrait

 

The problem with this argument is that the Ptolemaic dynasty were non-native rulers of Egypt of Greek origin, and did not mix with the local population much. Egyptian society was stratified under the Ptolemies with Greeks as the ruling class and native Egyptians as an underclass.  Additionally, the Ptolemaic rulers usually married their own sisters, so it is unlikely that there was much, if any, Egyptian blood in the mix.  Egyptians of the time were likely lighter skinned than what Dr. Ashton portrays, and given that Cleopatra had Greek heritage, she was probably lighter still.  For contrast, here’s an example of  a Roman era painting of an Egyptian, dated about 200 years after Cleopatra’s time.  While Cleopatra was likely not white, she also was not as dark-skinned as many seem to be arguing.  And while Jolie, who is of Czech, German, and French Canadian descent, is likely whiter than the historical Cleopatra, I don’t think this is as large an issue as some people want it to be. 

[Jezebel] 

[Telegraph]

Top Signs You Have Not Found Noah’s Ark

The Flood with Noah’s Ark

Following is a brief list of signs that someone claiming to have found Noah’s ark has not, in fact, found Noah’s ark:

1.  The person claims to have found Noah’s ark.

End of list.

[National Geographic]

“51 Headless Vikings Confirmed”

Whatever National Geographic ancient world daily news headline writers make, it isn’t enough. They are consistently amazing.

Check out these gems:

• Prehistoric Mummies Poisoned [National Geographic]
• 51 Headless Vikings Confirmed [National Geographic]
• Tomb Found Under Torture Mural [National Geographic]

Marry, Boff, Kill: Gorgon Edition

Persee et la Gorgon, Laurent Marquestree, 1890

This opinion piece by Euryale in the Onion about having a difficult time finding men made me wonder which of the three Gorgons (Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa) would be the best girlfriend.  Then it occurred to me that three Gorgons are the perfect number to play marry, boff, kill with.  Now as an initial matter, you might be thinking you should kill all three. ”Winged with snakes for hair — hated of mortal man–” (Aeschylus) doesn’t sound like a particularly good group to pick from.  But what about Pindar, he at least acknowledged that Medusa was “fair-cheeked.” That’s something. But aside from that, even if you might want to kill or avoid all three, those aren’t the rules of the game. You have to suck it up and boff or marry two of them. Here’s my decision:

Kill Medusa

She’s the only one that’s mortal, so I think you’re kind of stuck on this one. Do it Perseus style so you don’t get turned to stone.

Boff Euryale

She cries out loudly when Medusa dies. So maybe she’s a screamer in bed. Could be fun if you could somehow navigate the not being able to look at her issue. But if she’s loud all the time that might get old if you had to marry her. Then you’d have her nagging you and you couldn’t even look at her.

Marry Stheno

Purely a marriage of convenience. Stheno is the most ferocious of the Gorgons and killed more men than the others combined. So that’s who you want in your corner in my opinion. If you can’t look at your wife, at least make sure she’s got your back.

[The Onion]