To begin: the following is not an attack on President Biden. If you read it and conclude it is, I strongly urge you to reconsider that decision not to take that remedial course in reading comprehension. For as far back as I can find anything on the topic in history, humans have had a remarkable tendency to take a leader and endow him (they’re always “him”) as the embodiment of all the values they hold to be important. When it comes to doing that with people like Domitian, or Ivan the Terrible, or Stalin, Mao and Hitler - or Trump - it leads people to do terrible things, having convinced themselves that the evil that is in that person is not Evil but rather Good.
Thanks, TC. I did not take this as an attack on our President. As you say, no one President has it all and this Pandemic has been all consuming. But, yes, the honeymoon is over for Joe. Having said that I am still much relieved that a Joe, not a Donald, is our President. I will take the good over the perfect. I also suspect that the leaving of Afghanistan would always be fraught. Could it have been less fraught? Yes! The endless post-mortem will show the many reasons for that but at least one of them is that the Taliban, tactically matured, out-maneuvered the U.S. intelligence and/or we weren't paying attention or we were not questioning our assumptions. ( I hate that the women will be thrown back into the 6th century and that families are fearing for their very lives.)
As to your personal journey....it has all made you who you are and the guy who is not leaving the side of the wonderful woman who believes in you! I will remember you both in my nightly intentions before God, who I believe is not a "deus ex machina" being but nevertheless a presence right there with you both in the good days and the hard days. My husband got me through three tough years of cancer treatment. I am eternally grateful.Only very special people are the world's caregivers!!
As far as I can see it, The Donald continued to show he's the world's worst "deal maker" with what he did, since he placed no value on the things we did that were valuable and needed protection (they had nothing to do with him making money, so who cares?), and he got outmaneuvered (once again) by someone, this time someone actually important - that Mullah is one major guy, agree with him or not. But then Biden comes along and just takes that and says "OK." And we duck out of Bagram air base (the place we should have kept) sneaking out on a weekend and the Afghans didn't even know we were doing it. What in hell were they "planning" the past six months that they knew they were doing this? They weren't, that's what!
Anyone anywhere who ever believes an official of the United States when they say it's Thursday, without checking two calendars to be sure, is a fool. We've played "Lucy with the football" too long and now Charlie Brown is going to finally figure it out.
I am not in your league in this arena so mostly coming out of ignorance but I have gotten completely cynical about who is telling the truth anymore. So agree with need to be trying to think critically. I was just crazed by Trump and suppose the relief of Joe made me a little complacent!! But we are terrible about paying attention to warnings!! Anyway, thanks for your thinking.
Could it be that those who come to be the nitty gritty managers of foreign policy make too many assumptions? We all know what happens when you assume. A fair amount of hubris goes into the mix, and people make ignorant decisions about other countries and cultures. They think they know more than they do.
As for the Bushmorons who sent my son into war, I will always think Cheney should be in jail. Two people who skipped out on going to Vietnam sent other mothers sons into war. They certainly did not encourage their daughters to enlist, did they?
Well thought out letter today. A reminder that flawed human beings inhabit the presidency. But please, God, spare us from another far right, everyone for himself president.
“I strongly urge you to reconsider that decision not to take that remedial course in reading comprehension.”
That, TC, is one of the funniest openers to ward off complete “stupidness” of reader response. It should be a disclaimer on every Substack comment forum. Bravo.
Excellent discussion today of not particularly Biden as much as the Office of President. I’ll never forgive Trump for the abject jettison of respect I felt for the Office itself because of his whore mongering personality and total ineptitude of any presidential duty. And I will always applaud Biden even when I wince for beating the former at the polls and then being competent and presidential during the transition and first three months in office.
We will need 8 yrs of his term and then successor to get all the hard and soft infrastructure done so there best be a very aggressive plan to get the voting rights legislation signed into law. And to get the ghastly pandemic in the rear view mirror.
It was both odd and fascinating how you wove your love relationships and your perceptions and truths about women into this piece today.
TC, one of your more astute and moving writings. I don’t tend to gush, so I won’t go on. My heart goes out to you in dealing with a partner who has Parkinson’s. I know how that is, firsthand.
Thank you for your insights, experience, knowledge, perspective, heart and wisdom TC! Always enlightening. And a big Thank you to Lawrence O'Donnell tonight on MSNBC. No media histrionics, just insights, experience, knowledge, perspective, heart and wisdom!
I am heartened that you waited before posting a knee-jerk reaction to the events surrounding Afghanistan. I think most of us do convince ourselves that the leaders that we follow are perfect. It's much the same when it comes to celebrities. We instill in them qualities that they may not possess, just because they played a hero (shero!) on TV.
It is still too early to tell, but I have hopes that Biden will not suffer terribly over the fall-out.
As for your personal "gender-reckoning," good on you!
Thanks, TC. I did not take this as an attack on our President. As you say, no one President has it all and this Pandemic has been all consuming. But, yes, the honeymoon is over for Joe. Having said that I am still much relieved that a Joe, not a Donald, is our President. I will take the good over the perfect. I also suspect that the leaving of Afghanistan would always be fraught. Could it have been less fraught? Yes! The endless post-mortem will show the many reasons for that but at least one of them is that the Taliban, tactically matured, out-maneuvered the U.S. intelligence and/or we weren't paying attention or we were not questioning our assumptions. ( I hate that the women will be thrown back into the 6th century and that families are fearing for their very lives.)
As to your personal journey....it has all made you who you are and the guy who is not leaving the side of the wonderful woman who believes in you! I will remember you both in my nightly intentions before God, who I believe is not a "deus ex machina" being but nevertheless a presence right there with you both in the good days and the hard days. My husband got me through three tough years of cancer treatment. I am eternally grateful.Only very special people are the world's caregivers!!
Thanks Carol.
As far as I can see it, The Donald continued to show he's the world's worst "deal maker" with what he did, since he placed no value on the things we did that were valuable and needed protection (they had nothing to do with him making money, so who cares?), and he got outmaneuvered (once again) by someone, this time someone actually important - that Mullah is one major guy, agree with him or not. But then Biden comes along and just takes that and says "OK." And we duck out of Bagram air base (the place we should have kept) sneaking out on a weekend and the Afghans didn't even know we were doing it. What in hell were they "planning" the past six months that they knew they were doing this? They weren't, that's what!
Anyone anywhere who ever believes an official of the United States when they say it's Thursday, without checking two calendars to be sure, is a fool. We've played "Lucy with the football" too long and now Charlie Brown is going to finally figure it out.
I am not in your league in this arena so mostly coming out of ignorance but I have gotten completely cynical about who is telling the truth anymore. So agree with need to be trying to think critically. I was just crazed by Trump and suppose the relief of Joe made me a little complacent!! But we are terrible about paying attention to warnings!! Anyway, thanks for your thinking.
Could it be that those who come to be the nitty gritty managers of foreign policy make too many assumptions? We all know what happens when you assume. A fair amount of hubris goes into the mix, and people make ignorant decisions about other countries and cultures. They think they know more than they do.
As for the Bushmorons who sent my son into war, I will always think Cheney should be in jail. Two people who skipped out on going to Vietnam sent other mothers sons into war. They certainly did not encourage their daughters to enlist, did they?
Well thought out letter today. A reminder that flawed human beings inhabit the presidency. But please, God, spare us from another far right, everyone for himself president.
Thanks for your prospective, TC.
“I strongly urge you to reconsider that decision not to take that remedial course in reading comprehension.”
That, TC, is one of the funniest openers to ward off complete “stupidness” of reader response. It should be a disclaimer on every Substack comment forum. Bravo.
Excellent discussion today of not particularly Biden as much as the Office of President. I’ll never forgive Trump for the abject jettison of respect I felt for the Office itself because of his whore mongering personality and total ineptitude of any presidential duty. And I will always applaud Biden even when I wince for beating the former at the polls and then being competent and presidential during the transition and first three months in office.
We will need 8 yrs of his term and then successor to get all the hard and soft infrastructure done so there best be a very aggressive plan to get the voting rights legislation signed into law. And to get the ghastly pandemic in the rear view mirror.
It was both odd and fascinating how you wove your love relationships and your perceptions and truths about women into this piece today.
The juxtapositions were satisfying.
Sizzlin’ TC. Sizzlin’.
TC, one of your more astute and moving writings. I don’t tend to gush, so I won’t go on. My heart goes out to you in dealing with a partner who has Parkinson’s. I know how that is, firsthand.
Thanks.
Well balanced, thoughtful, inspirational, and otherwise, well-done. Thank you.
Flattery will get you *everywhere* Andrea. :-)
Thank you for your insights, experience, knowledge, perspective, heart and wisdom TC! Always enlightening. And a big Thank you to Lawrence O'Donnell tonight on MSNBC. No media histrionics, just insights, experience, knowledge, perspective, heart and wisdom!
I am heartened that you waited before posting a knee-jerk reaction to the events surrounding Afghanistan. I think most of us do convince ourselves that the leaders that we follow are perfect. It's much the same when it comes to celebrities. We instill in them qualities that they may not possess, just because they played a hero (shero!) on TV.
It is still too early to tell, but I have hopes that Biden will not suffer terribly over the fall-out.
As for your personal "gender-reckoning," good on you!