A couple of Fridays ago, the Other Fearless Leader and I were out enjoying an evening at the Muny, St. Louis’ outdoor home for musical theater. The weather was perfect, an uncommon occurance in St. Louis in August. Before the show, most everybody sang the National Anthem, a practice that seems to have started with 9-11 and continues almost 2 years later – indicative of changes in American society. The lady in front of the Other Fearless Leader complimented her on her beautiful singing (a common occurance for her, but something that’s never happened to me). I always smile while singing the National Anthem because it reminds me of the scene in The Naked Gun where Leslie Nielsen can’t remember the lyrics.
Anyway, we saw South Pacific, and that reminds me that based on the recommendation of Geitner Simmons I’m reading Downfall: the End of the Imperial Japanese Empire which is mighty fine so far (I’m about 1/3 finished). And speaking of Recurring Themes, the book mentions that the Japanese thought they’d win the war because the United States, a decadent liberal democracy, wouldn’t be able to stand the casualties required to sustain the fight. The longer the war went on, the more that idea became the only hope the Japanese had. Sound familiar, doesn’t it? Not to belittle the hardships that our soldiers are experiencing today, but what the GI’s had to go through in the Pacific theater was far worse – both living (and fighting) conditions and casualties. And if you want to talk fanaticism, Japanese soldiers routinely suffered 97 to 99 percent killed in action. Pardon my French, Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose (The more things change, the more they stay the same).
