Memory Lapse

William Kristol complains that MoveOn.org’s “Alex” ad is a slap in the face to soldiers.

The MoveOn ad is unapologetic in its selfishness, and barely disguised in its disdain for those who have chosen to serve — and its contempt for those parents who might be proud of sons and daughters who are serving. The ad boldly embraces a vision of a selfish and infantilized America, suggesting that military service and sacrifice are unnecessary and deplorable relics of the past.

And the sole responsibility of others.

Can someone remind me when Kristol served in the military? I’m drawing a blank (she said, snarkily).

Just a few days ago, Kristol explained to Faux Nooz audiences that if Barack Obama becomes a clear favorite in the presidential race, President Bush would be forced to go ahead and bomb Iran. Otherwise, the job could wait for President McBush.

I think that if Kristol is so fired-up eager to attack Iran, we should give him a helmet and rifle and a plane ticket to Tehran. Go for it, dude. Let us know how it turns out.

Kristol conflates a reluctance to fight in Iraq with a reluctance to defend America. This is the same claim righties made during the Vietnam years — that those opposed to the war were opposed to defending America. But of course, “fighting in Vietnam” and “defending America” were two entirely different things.

As I’ve said before, we Boomers were raised to be idealistic and naive. The first wave of Boomers were children during the hyper-patriotic post World War II era, remember. We were taught to revere the flag and John Wayne. Boys in particular spent their childhood re-fighting Iwo Jima in surburban back yards. Had there been a genuine threat to America, and a genuine need to go to war, I believe my brother Boomers would have responded at least as well as our fathers did.

Instead, for many muddied and ignoble reasons, our idealism was betrayed with Vietnam, a war I’m sure Kristol supported enthusiastically as an undergraduate at Harvard even as he managed to avoid fighting in it.

So who’s being selfish and infantile, Bill?

Young people today seem a lot more grounded than we were back then. They are much less naive, at least. I can’t speak to the idealism issue; that’s hard to measure. But this may be the first generation since those of 1776 and 1860 that will be called on to re-evaluate the entire issue of nation, and why we have one. Good luck with that.

Update: See Mustang Bobby.