In the early 1970s, I saw Phil Ochs in concert. He was a member in good standing of The Folk Song Army and I thoroughly enjoyed his music. Phil Ochs was an important member of the anti-Vietnam war protest generation and sang about his opposition in such classics as Draft Dodger Rag:
Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, my feet are flat, and my asthma's
getting worse
O think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old
invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a goin' to school, and I'm
working in a defense plantI've got a dislocated disc and a racked up back
I'm allergic to flowers and bugs
And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits
And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs
I got the weakness woes, and I can't touch my toes
I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me
I'd probably start to sneezeI hate Chou En Lai, and I hope he dies,
but one thing you gotta see
That someone's gotta go over there
and that someone isn't me
So I wish you well, Sarge, give 'em Hell
Yeah, Kill me a thousand or so
And if you ever get a war without blood and gore
Well I'll be the first to go
The signs of the Narcissistic egocentricity so much a part of the Baby Boomer generation were unmistakable in his music, but at the time we were relatively unaware of our provincialism, safe in our anti-War moral superiority and unconcerned about the fate of our brown brothers in Vietnam who we were all sure would be much happier with us gone and the country under the peace loving and justice committed Communists of the North.
All that aside, I do recall some disappointment at the concert as it was marred by his extreme and obvious intoxication with alcohol that cause him to slur his words and fail to remember the lyrics to one of his signature songs, Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends, his disquisition on the death of Kitty Genovese. Later on, Phil Ochs had a few minor hits and faded from the scene as the 1970s progressed and as his alcohol abuse and possible Bipolar Disorder worsened; he hung himself in 1976.
I was reminded of Phil Ochs by the performance of Anthony Weiner, Democratic Congressman from Brooklyn and Queens, on the O'Reilly factor, where he appeared alongside Peter King (R-NY) to offer learned commentary on the Bush-Blair press conference last night.
Weiner said that the "War is Over" and we should, therefore pull all of our troops out now. Since he represents parts of Queens, where the New York Mets have played for so long, I'm fairly certain he would recall a famous headline from the Mets' hapless early days after the Mets managed to blow a late game lead and lost a game they should have won: "Mets snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory!"
I have to paraphrase his comments but Weiner essentially said that we have deposed Saddam Hussein, Iraq finally has a new government under their new Constitution, and we should now leave. O'Reilly raised the question of what would happen if we left, the terrorists were emboldened, and they were able to bring down the government and cause Iraq to collapse into disaster; this would create a new terrorist safe haven and cause terrorists the world over to think they had beaten us. Predictably, Weiner heard none of it and responded with the cynical quote, "we have given them their freedom, now see if they can keep it." (If anyone has the citation, please let me know.)
It is now official; we have won the Iraq War! Anthony Weiner said so and he is a very liberal member of a very liberal Congressional delegation; who am I to argue with the likes of Anthony Weiner?
It is clear that some have never left Vietnam, so allow me to leave you with the lyrics to The War is Over, by Phil Ochs:
Silent Soldiers on a silver screen
Framed in fantasies and dragged in dream
Unpaid actors of the mystery
The mad director knows that freedom will not make you free
And what's this got to do with meI declare the war is over
It's over, it's overDrums are drizzling on a grain of sand
Fading rhythms of a fading land
Prove your courage in the proud parade
Trust your leaders where mistakes are almost never made
And they're afraid that I'm afraidI'm afraid the war is over
It's over, it's overAngry artists painting angry signs
Use their vision just to blind the blind
Poisoned players of a grizzly game
One is guilty and the other gets the point to blame
Pardon me if I refrainI declare the war is over
It's over, it's overSo do your duty, boys, and join with pride
Serve your country in her suicide
Find the flags so you can wave goodbye
But just before the end even treason might be worth a try
This country is to young to dieI declare the war is over
It's over, it's overOne-legged veterans will greet the dawn
And they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn
And the gargoyles only sit and grieve
The gypsy fortune teller told me that we'd been deceived
You only are what you believeI believe the war is over
It's over, it's over
Bush and Blair both made the point that the job has been more difficult than expected but there is reason for optimism and that we need to stay until the Iraqi government forces can stand up for themselves (and their new government has predicted coalition troops could be out of the country by the end of next year.)
Our "heroic" anti-War left remember their glory days, when they brought down a government and stopped a war; they conveniently forget that after we pulled the rug out from under the South Vietnamese, the North took over and close to a million South Vietnamese perished, along with 2 million Cambodians who were "collateral damage." To paraphrase another famous line from the "heroic" past, Mr. Weiner, have you no shame?
Recent Comments