Watched the 60th anniversary D-Day ceremony on CNN now - was struck by the fluidity of history, the chaos of cause and effect. We don't honor a step on the predictable staircase of history, but a focal point for a billion historical accidents. It's awe of that immense, incomprehensible storm which we, somehow, came out alive of that gives these events their power. We don't understand - so we seize on those few events and people that stand out clearly, like church spires above the fog.

There's nothing wrong with that - but behind this retrospective framing of history into easily understood Important Events, if we dig a little, we find the fog and the billions of threads intermingling. People bumping into people. And we realize that we can't base our actions on clean historical facades, important though they are as symbols. We must act on what we understand of the fog behind the facade. Which sadly isn't much, except that to the people inside it's chaotic, rarely clean, never obvious. We just don't know where we are going. All we have are basic principles of behavior - honesty, compassion, decency, valor. We don't know that they will lead us anywhere nice, but we believe that, on the whole, we're better off with them than with anything else. Perhaps some of the things we do will stand clearly out of the fog 60 years from now, as symbols of something we did right or wrong, or the most visible display of a tipping point, but we don't have that luxury in real-time.

That's not really a lesson of D-Day more than other days, but it's one we should keep in mind. It's particularly relevant today, when many people - primarily in Europe but also the US - are willing to sacrifice honesty, compassion and decency for higher ideals or partisan causes. We act on the facades - America the protector of democracy, or America the tyrant of the world - and, sometimes, forget our principles. Perhaps America is a tyrant, but compassion demands that we support it in a particular war. Perhaps America is the protector of democracy, (which would be my reading of the 20th century), but decency demands that we actively hold it to high standards, never allow it to take shortcuts.

In the fog, all we have are principles. Facade-building should be left to posterity.

Bjorn
An account of D-Day by today's standards.
Silentrunning

The linking never works right so here is a manual address.
http://silentrunning.tv/

I started to watch this on CNN also. However after a while Christine Amanpour came on and began to interview people about D-Day and Iraq. She proceeded to be interviewed about the speech by Cherac and proceed with her ususal mind numbing pomposity pronouncements. I went back to Fox news. I have three objections to her. One, she has never had a good hair day. Two, she preaches with all of the self-confidence of someone repeating a mantra and three, she is at bottom a third rate political analyst posing as a second rate reporter.

President Reagan delivered this speech June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day, to a group of World War II veterans at Pointe du Hoc, France.)

* * *

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two world wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent

* * *

We will pray forever that someday that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.

* * *

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."

* * *
Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

I can't resis this. I know you are not supposed to post whole articles, but Victor Davis Hansen has a wonderful parody which he just released. It is absolutely hysterical

Our Look Back at Normandy What our generation might have said a month later in July, 1944
Victor Davis Hanson

[That's right, you're not supposed to post whole articles. Here's the URL to the article: http://victorhanson.com/Articles/Private%20Papers/Normandy.html -bs]

Herbie: While I don't know Bjørn's reason behind his policy about not posting whole articles (I think it's somewhat along the line sof them taking up too much room on the comments page), I've got a reason of my own why it's bad practice.

The original author hasn't necessarily allowed you to do so.

While we all ignore copyrights from time to time -- when the pages are freely available from the authors home page, it's only good practice to link to them instead of ripping the author off.

Got it - it was just a very funny parody

"...she is at bottom a third rate political analyst posing as a second rate reporter."

Well, at least she isn't pretentious...

No actually she is amazlingly pretentious. When she conducts what purpports to be an interview almost of of her Qs appear to already have an answer and all she needs in her wisdom is for her subject to confirm her preconceived views. If they do not or they disagree,listen to her voice rise and the nervous tenor of the next set of Qs. Calling her a dope would be an understatement

But the worst --avowed sexist that I am -- is her hair: she has never, never had a good hair day :-)

Fuck Jesus Christ and all Xtians in the asshole until they bleed red!

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