Its a silly position to hold anyways - this apparant demand that if you support the war, you must immediately go and fight in it. I wouldn't demand that of anyone....though, after a moment's thought, I think that some of our pro-communist bloggers should spend some time in North Korea.

Anyways; I am a peace-time Navy veteran. Served from 1983 to 1987. I joined to fight a war - oddly enough, I actually wanted to be in a war (there is a small percentage of us in the world; Rupert Brooke was the most famous of us oddities). Why Navy? Because the Marines thought I was a bit on the small side to be a Marine - and I never considered the Army. As it turned out, there wasn't a war when I was in and as by 1987 it was clear that the USSR was on its last-legs and no war was in prospect, I took my scheduled discharge. In 1991 I tried to re-enlist when the Gulf War came up, but the Navy simply had no openings for a returning prodigal (full disclosure, they thought they could get me in - in nine months; I judged the war to be over by that point and I was correct). In 2001, I was informed that I was too old. Such is the humor of life.

I feel a deep, abiding shame that I am not in Iraq right now. What point it would prove is not entirely clear to me, but I think it would be a vital point being made if I was to be in combat. After years of thinking on it, I think that its just this overwhelming feeling of love that I get when I think of the United States and I want to pour out my all for this great country of ours. Don't get me wrong, you'll never find a man more afraid of dying than I am, but balancing that death against the prospect of what such a death would bring seems a fair exchange.

It annoys me, this charge of chickenhawk - because it does sting. After all is said and done, I am home safe and dry rather than putting my ass where my opinions are. Of course, I detect the rank hypocrisy of most of those making the charge - people who have nothing but contempt for our military members; people who not only never served, but never would have considered serving under any circumstances. As a chickenhawk, I can say this, however; there is in the breast of every patriot who has not fought for his country the regret that he didn't get the chance to prove his patriotism. And its worse for those who had the chance, and didn't take it.

Well, Tom wasn't making fun of war bloggers, you see. Just of that subset of war bloggers that that cartoon described, i.e. people who when they get a nasty email say, "incoming!", etc. Really it was quite contentless, just pointing out that self-important chicken-hawk-bloggers are ugly when badly drawn. Really, there were absolutely no generalizations in that cartoon, and you're misunderstanding it if you think that there were.

At least, that's what I got from Tom's messages and those of his supporters in the comment section.

It does make one wonder, though, why he would bother with a cartoon that merely states the obvious and doesn't generalize at all...

Parody and satire work best when the target is worthy, with some fundamental flaw in their thinking or action that when exposed via a skilled humorist reveals them for the misguided bufoons that they are. (This can be done without rancor if one avoids attacking the fundamental character of the individual.)

For so many years the Right has been the target of so many such jokes, and perhaps deservedly so. Now I'm quite convinced the Right is often mocked out of habit without any real examination of the issue that is being mocked.

Satire and parody work best now when pointed Left. Witness the success of ScrappleFace.

As further illustration I offer the decline of Saturday Night Live as a comedy program over the past few years. Can't wait to see that Sharpton episode though, maybe they'll reverse the trend!

Well put. Combine the comedians (sans Dennis Miller) with the actors who think they're foreign policy experts (sans Bruce Willis, James Woods and Chuck Norris, to name a few) and the musicians (hmmm, can't think of one to exempt) and you've got a bunch of bitter, mean and nasty entertainers who don't entertain. With the exception of a couple of shows that I TiVo, I hardly even watch T.V. anymore.

This Gulf War veteran and warblogger salutes you. I think you hit the nail on the head here.

Helluva post, Dean. I know I've definitely become less tolerant of cynicism and shallow jibes since September 11, but I honestly hadn't considered that part of it before. To me, it just seemed like everyone suddenly turned so . . . nasty. But you're probably right. It's probably partly my own change in attitude as well.

They won't take me either.

But I have a son who is three years shy of legal age for registration with Selective Service. I've given some thought to this matter, especially in light of the recent rumors that the draft is on its way back. All the usual suspects say otherwise, but I always view stories like this as trial balloons.

In any case...Dean, you have a young son. How would you feel if he were drafted? How would Rosemary feel?

Have you given it serious thought?

Since there is no draft, Ara, shouldn't that question be "how would they feel if he enlisted?"

How would you feel if he were drafted? How would Rosemary feel?

I can't honestly say how I'd feel. I think it would depend on how my son felt about it. If he was unwilling to serve then I suppose I'd be really upset that he was forced into it.

I have always felt that a voluntary military works better. If our son enlisted I'd be proud. I'd worry about him but I'd be proud.

I myself tried to enlist twice. I was rejected due to my weight. I lost weight and tried again but I was still too heavy, but I tried.

"But I have a son who is three years shy of legal age for registration with Selective Service. I've given some thought to this matter, especially in light of the recent rumors that the draft is on its way back. All the usual suspects say otherwise, but I always view stories like this as trial balloons. "

Seems like every time we get into a scrape, someone launches those trial balloons. When we went to war over Kosovo, the same kinds of stories came out, and the same vague rumors that they were considering bringing back the draft and so on.

Fortunately, that never came to pass.

I don't expect to see a draft this time either (knock on wood).

One of the things that makes our military BY FAR the best military in the world is that it is all volunteer. As an Army SFC with 13 years in, I honestly hold nothing against those who have never signed up for whatever reason. The military is not for everyone; it is truly the ultimate "alternative" lifestyle. (No, not that Jeff.) Personally, when I was in college, I could not have imagined EVER serving in the military, now I can't imagine doing anything else. Funny.

I don't distrust civilian presidents sending troops off to war because before a president takes any action whatsoever, he has consulted with generals and the like. I don't believe any president has viewed the military as their own little chess pieces or cool army toys.

Yes, civilians may not understand what soldiers go through, but as long as they support us and welcome us back, I've got no complaints.

I have an 8 year old son, he wants to be a ranger. Chicken hawk seems awfully condescending, which is what the left does best now. I registered when I turned 18, registration had been re-instituted by Reagan a couple of years earlier, and I felt at the time if my country needed me, I would have gone. It was my duty. Did I enlist no, there was no war or pressing need. Looking back on it now, after talking with a friend of a friend who went to Annapolis, I wish I had enlisted. The sense of honor that he has is compelling. I think it would have made me a better man. And I can hear the debates, would you enlist to invade Viet Nam or some such thing, you know the unjust war. I was a moderate lefty back then, and I said that I would have because if your country calls, then you go, the political question, right or wrong yada yada yada, that was for others to answer. My father was drafted and manned a missile battery in Germany in the 50's, another friends father was a Marine. We we by no means a military family but could I have been a CO, or run to Canada and lived with my self, faced my father if I had not heeded the call. Its easy words to speak when the possibility was remote (though not that remote if you remember the bleatings that Reagan was a warmonger). What I am trying to say, I think the chicken bloggers theme is offensive, I find the cynicl, jaded oh so modern pose by many on the left to be incredibly wrong at its core, for its not based on a love of America, its based on contempt for America. Anyway, great post Dean, keep it up

My son is graduating from high school in June. Needless to say, I'm a little apprehensive. I seriously doubt he'll volunteer. Should the draft return, I'll stand by whatever decision he makes. I'm a tweener and missed Vietnam by about four years. I was going to join the Marines during the hostage crisis. I was in college at the time and I even talked to a recruiter. To this day, I'm surprised by our lack of response to that situation and so many other terrorist situations that have occured over the years. I'm trying to raise three kids so joining would be difficult. I suspect they don't take 44 year old guys with pot bellies either. My brother fought in Nam and my father fought in WWII. My son may end up in this one. I don't understand war at so many levels and I don't understand the human propensity for blind hatred. I've seen so much of it in my lifetime and I earnestly pray to God for a respite.

I think the issue of humor, with regard to the Left, is a matter of viewpoint and momentum.

During the Vietnam war, Harlan Ellison (in one of his TV review columns) postulated that there was a sliding scale of "funny," and that the Left could be funny, but the Right couldn't be.

I think he was correct *for the time.* But this is no longer the 60's, and many people have made the point in many discussions that it appears that the Left hasn't realized that yet.

During the 60's, mainstream society was very conservative, but becoming more liberal. Humor from the Left was subversive, but the viewpoints expressed in that humor (in shows like Laugh-in and the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour) were gaining in currency. That humor consisted in large part of sly digs against the establishment, and questioning the status quo.

Now, the viewpoints that were espoused then have become the status quo, and their humor, rather than being a subtle undermining of mainstream thought, is attempting to defend the establishment.

I used to find Doonesbury hilarious. Now, I much prefer Day by Day.

Maybe humorists on the Left have just forgotten how to be subtle. When you're on top of the world, you don't need subtlety as much, and you can get out of practice. Maybe they've become strident because they're panicked, seeing their viewpoints lose currency.

My answer to the draft question is here.

As for humor: I believe that Wheels is correct. The simple truth of the matter is that the political Left now *is* the ossified, kneejerk, reactionary class of today. Having grown lazy and complacent in their own sense of moral and intellectual superiority, they lost the ability to think independently well over a decade ago. They are today's reactionary class. They are the establishment--and so smug, snotty, and condescending that they honestly can't realize that thinking, thoughtful, caring people might actually see things differently from them.

They own the universities still. They used to own the media, although they're losing that in a game of inches. Meanwhile, all the young radical thinkers of today are libertarians/"conservatives," although most of the "conservatives" aren't particularly conservative.

20 or 30 years hence, I suppose the libertoids will be the establishment, and will also need to be overthrown for being a bunch of ossified reactionaries who've lost the ability to think rationally themselves.

wheels:

Ah! Harlan Ellison's The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat. I treasure my much-worn and oft-reread copies— they take me back to the days of my youth.

But that was then, and this is now. Having lived through the times from then till now, I agree with everything you say in your post.

I’ve lived in England for a long time now, and I always figured the joshing I got about America was all part of the “special relationship”. I generally took it good-naturedly, but since 9/11, I don’t find it funny at all.

It’s not that I’ve lost my sense of humor; it’s my sense of perspective that’s changed.

i saw the title of that cartoon first, "Chickenhawk Down" and i was immediately disgusted. The rest of what the artist had to say, at that point, didn't matter.

My friend's son, Homer Nearpass, was driving a Humvee in one of the convoys during the incident in Mogadishu. Having talked to him a little bit about what happened, and knowing how my friend felt about it, i can think of nothing less funny than the title of that stupid cartoon. The cartoon was beyond lame, even if it had had a different title.

"Maybe humorists on the Left have just forgotten how to be subtle. When you're on top of the world, you don't need subtlety as much, and you can get out of practice. Maybe they've become strident because they're panicked, seeing their viewpoints lose currency."

Or, maybe it's become impossible to subtly parody the right.

Straightforward, linear, logical thinking is hard to make fun of isn't it? It's too bad that has, apparently, been ceded entirely to the so-called "Right."

Dean, it's also hard to parody when you have absolutely no comprehension of, or respect for, your opposition.

Someone earlier mentioned "Day by Day" (if you haven't read it yet, run over to www.daybydaycartoon.com and check it out). Chris does a good job of lampooning both sides.

Yes, he usually goes after the Democratic/Left, but he won't shy from skewering the GOP/Right at times, either. This is one of the reasons I really like his strip, as it isn't Yet Another "BOY, the other side is a bunch of morons" Diatribe.

"Straightforward, linear, logical thinking is hard to make fun of isn't it? It's too bad that has, apparently, been ceded entirely to the so-called "Right."

I suppose the conniving political calculations behind "Wag the Dog" could be considered “Straightforward, linear, logical thinking”. Nevertheless, it’s been done; life imitating parody. You’re right, the Democrats are much funnier.

[rolling eyes]

Right-wingers are very easy to lampoon. The problem is, most of the Left doesn't know how to do it, because they don't bother trying to understand, let alone respect, their arguments, as Casey pointed out.

What's to understand, Dean? We need to make pre-emptive war to create peace, we need to eliminate taxes to strengthen society, we should allow businesses to use the world as their toilet so we can prosper, the government doesn't have the right to make me register my gun but has the right to force women to bear children? Ideology isn't argument and, in practice, it isn't very funny.

I rest my case, Shep. ;-)

Figured you could use a pick-me-up ;-)

As a new member of the draft board, I can tell you that no one is prepping us as if the draft is coming back.

Folks, the term "chicken hawk" was imported from Vietnam and was coined to describe individuals such as our current vice president, a former speaker of the house, and a certain talk radio host, among many others. Such individuals, many of whom had the advantage of political connections, perhaps attended the very best schools or had convenient physical maladies, apparently had other, pressing matters to which they needed to attend when the nation called for service in Vietnam. Later in life, once safely past military service age, many of these individuals rose to position of prominence and became very bellicose when it came to committing other American's kids to battle.

Maybe this will explain why some of us who did go to Vietnam, courtesy of the "Best and Brightest," and who did learn a little bit about war, are somewhat skeptical when such individuals find it so easy to commit other people's children to war, especially when the aims of such a war and the benefit to the nation are unclear.

I found the Tomorrow cartoon to be pretty effective. And I would also say, if the shoe fits, wear it.