“We have been gradually closing ourselves off from the world as if under siege. But like in the movie its a siege we have imposed on ourselves. Who knows if we will ever see it lifted.”
It ain’t looking good right now… but “ever” is a long time.
On a somewhat unrelated topic, this post turned my thoughts to my most indelible 9/11 recollection, even more than seeing the second tower collapse from the window of my firm's office. It was a month or so after 9/11. I was on my first trip after then. It was evening and I was on a flight from Houston back to New York. The plane was empty. There were only 3 passengers in the business class cabin. Across the the aisle, three seats away from me was GHWB. He was sitting there reading a paperback and had an aide sitting in the row behind him. The only thoughts that went through my mind while he sat there And posed for selfies with the cabin crew were curiosity about what he was reading and the observation that someone who could fly on a private jet anytime he wanted flying commercial was evidence of being grounded.
Reading this post took me back to that night and focused me on something I probably should have thought about then. We were just weeks past cataclysmic events that destroyed the country's sense of invulnerability and set the U.S. on a dangerous course. The person in charge of getting us through this mess was my fellow passenger's son. How can I not have wondered what was going through his mind? Was he praying that his son was up to the task? Was he thinking about what he must have known about his son's abilities and weaknesses and worrying. Considering what advice he should give his son? Or just immersed in some light reading? In the light of subsequent events and looking back I would greatly like to know the answers to those questions.
People say that World War II ended the WASP ascendancy,
Perhaps WW II started the process in a benign way. If you have read Digby Baltzell, you may recall that his service in the war exposed him to Americans from backgrounds very different from his and left him forever unable to think less of a person because of that person's lack of a distinguished pedigree or ethnic origin. Perhaps that effect was widespread among that class.
Very good. Thank you…
“We have been gradually closing ourselves off from the world as if under siege. But like in the movie its a siege we have imposed on ourselves. Who knows if we will ever see it lifted.”
It ain’t looking good right now… but “ever” is a long time.
I've been appreciating the outspoken anti-Trumpers like David Frum and Bill Kristol, but can't forgive
them for their lies leading to the Iraq war. They paved the way for the incessant lies and unleashed destruction of Donald J Trump and company.
On a somewhat unrelated topic, this post turned my thoughts to my most indelible 9/11 recollection, even more than seeing the second tower collapse from the window of my firm's office. It was a month or so after 9/11. I was on my first trip after then. It was evening and I was on a flight from Houston back to New York. The plane was empty. There were only 3 passengers in the business class cabin. Across the the aisle, three seats away from me was GHWB. He was sitting there reading a paperback and had an aide sitting in the row behind him. The only thoughts that went through my mind while he sat there And posed for selfies with the cabin crew were curiosity about what he was reading and the observation that someone who could fly on a private jet anytime he wanted flying commercial was evidence of being grounded.
Reading this post took me back to that night and focused me on something I probably should have thought about then. We were just weeks past cataclysmic events that destroyed the country's sense of invulnerability and set the U.S. on a dangerous course. The person in charge of getting us through this mess was my fellow passenger's son. How can I not have wondered what was going through his mind? Was he praying that his son was up to the task? Was he thinking about what he must have known about his son's abilities and weaknesses and worrying. Considering what advice he should give his son? Or just immersed in some light reading? In the light of subsequent events and looking back I would greatly like to know the answers to those questions.
People say that World War II ended the WASP ascendancy,
Perhaps WW II started the process in a benign way. If you have read Digby Baltzell, you may recall that his service in the war exposed him to Americans from backgrounds very different from his and left him forever unable to think less of a person because of that person's lack of a distinguished pedigree or ethnic origin. Perhaps that effect was widespread among that class.