zebras grazing
Another mass shooting, something's off, way off in our society and we know it.
This past week I took an afternoon to watch online a video of the June 1942 Battle of Midway, from the Japanese perspective, in which IJN Vice Admiral Nagumo lost the four aircraft carriers of his mobile strike force plus over three hundred aircraft and thousands of men, including irreplaceable skilled aircraft maintenance crews, sailors and officers. Too indecisive anyway, the admiral was taken by surprise, caught in a dilemma, and, unknowingly relying on erroneous assumptions, lacked the information he needed to make a winning decision. His losses were catastrophic.
After the video, I let youtube wander off to watch old newsreels, including early 1930s coverage of German President von Hindenburg in parades, reviewing troops, raising his field marshal's baton in salute, and running for reelection at the doddering, extreme old age of 84. Which became rather personal.
.
After that, I watched old newsreels covering allied and axis powers during World War Two.
Then, youtube assuming, as it will, that if I like war documentaries I must like violence in general, which I don't, moved on to wild animals fighting, eagles going for baby mountain goats, a crocodile trying to drag a baby elephant by the tail, hyenas going for their prey, and a lion stalking a zebra who was foolish enough to wander away from the herd and paid the price.
What struck me about the lion and zebra video was the zebras scattering wildly during the chase but then, once the wanderer was caught and down, the zebras stopping not far distant to stare as, the upside down victim's four legs kicking, the lions began to rip into him. The zebras stood watching until the kill was done and the lions were feasting,
then the zebra herd went back to grazing unconcerned.
Except for the striped pajamas, there's no difference between zebras and Americans whose attention is stirred momentarily by a mass shooting, then everything calms down and it's back to life as usual until the lions are hungry again, which won't be long.
For all our cell phones and self-driving cars, we are as dumb, impotent, egocentric, resigned and unconcerned as animals. No other country seems to have our problem. Something's way off in the moral compass of our nation, of our people, in our priorities, in our notion of rights and our sense of responsibility. We really don't care.
Zebras grazing.
This past week I took an afternoon to watch online a video of the June 1942 Battle of Midway, from the Japanese perspective, in which IJN Vice Admiral Nagumo lost the four aircraft carriers of his mobile strike force plus over three hundred aircraft and thousands of men, including irreplaceable skilled aircraft maintenance crews, sailors and officers. Too indecisive anyway, the admiral was taken by surprise, caught in a dilemma, and, unknowingly relying on erroneous assumptions, lacked the information he needed to make a winning decision. His losses were catastrophic.
After the video, I let youtube wander off to watch old newsreels, including early 1930s coverage of German President von Hindenburg in parades, reviewing troops, raising his field marshal's baton in salute, and running for reelection at the doddering, extreme old age of 84. Which became rather personal.
.
After that, I watched old newsreels covering allied and axis powers during World War Two.
Then, youtube assuming, as it will, that if I like war documentaries I must like violence in general, which I don't, moved on to wild animals fighting, eagles going for baby mountain goats, a crocodile trying to drag a baby elephant by the tail, hyenas going for their prey, and a lion stalking a zebra who was foolish enough to wander away from the herd and paid the price.
What struck me about the lion and zebra video was the zebras scattering wildly during the chase but then, once the wanderer was caught and down, the zebras stopping not far distant to stare as, the upside down victim's four legs kicking, the lions began to rip into him. The zebras stood watching until the kill was done and the lions were feasting,
then the zebra herd went back to grazing unconcerned.
Except for the striped pajamas, there's no difference between zebras and Americans whose attention is stirred momentarily by a mass shooting, then everything calms down and it's back to life as usual until the lions are hungry again, which won't be long.
For all our cell phones and self-driving cars, we are as dumb, impotent, egocentric, resigned and unconcerned as animals. No other country seems to have our problem. Something's way off in the moral compass of our nation, of our people, in our priorities, in our notion of rights and our sense of responsibility. We really don't care.
Zebras grazing.