I try to be amused…
When troubles arise, better people have a line of poetry to soothe the moment. Primitive that I am, I often find myself remembering, “I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.”
It’s the intro to “White Shoes,” a long-forgotten Elvis Costello song about a bad break-up. He considers ending it all. But instead he tries, not altogether convincingly to be amused.
Profound? No. Poetic? Helpful? Not really. But when it comes to public affairs and rank culture, it can help.
It Won’t Be Called Fascism
It’s anti-fascism, anti-communism, and anti-woke. It’s awesome parades of awesome military equipment, solemn oaths,.it’s crowds of thousands all wearing the same colors. It’s slogans (usually three syllables shouted in unison). It comes with spoonfuls of sugar, but it’s roundups and censorship, banishments and unexplained punishments.
Which Emperor Does Trump Resemble?
Trump may have immunity, but the Roman Emperor Caracalla said “I can do whatever I want” first.
Babe Ruth’s World War I Draft Registration
Despite the hoarding habits of certain federal officials, the National Archives still has a big inventory. Military history stuff. And baseball stuff. It marked the start of spring training, for example, by publishing Babe…
Only The Worst Parts of History Repeat Themselves
We not only repeat history, we copy it I’m told that studying history is a good way to avoid repeating it. But, as a whole, it’s not working out that way. Studying history has done little to prevent us from repeating…
The Madmen May Change, But The Headlines Don’t
Some things in history do repeat themselves History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. Mark Twain originally wrote that. Or not. This being the post-truth age, his authorship, too, has been questioned. But some things in history do repeat themselves…
World War II’s Guests: Enemy Soldiers Living in the U.S.
Like, 425,000 of Them I’ve been talking to book clubs and groups about “Something Like Treason,” which, of course, is about some pro-German U.S. soldiers during World War II. Until climate change became evident to enough people, World War II…
Why We Swallow Big Lies: A 19th Century Writer Explains
Big lies, of course, reliably spring from money, power, and/or sex. The more outrageous they are, however, the more passionately we come to believe them. Count me among the befuddled. Why we believe these things, fall for the same…
The strange allure of World War II and meat-grinding
One Man’s War is another Man’s Movie I do love World War II. No, not the meat-grinding blood, torture, cruelty, death, and heartache that it was. But let some character seem to die or spy in a war book, movie…
Flattery always enthusiastically embraced
When I was researching the book, I ran across a really interesting military historian named Fred Borch. I cited some of his work in “Something Like Treason.” Now I’m ready to do something modest like worship at his feet because…
The Approaching Climax of “Something Like Treason”
Waiting for Something Like Treason: Disloyal American Soldiers and the Plot to be World War II Home is something like waiting for any climax. Some nail-biting, some managing of expectations, some resolve to just be cool, then repeat. My publisher…
The Immortal Case Against Social Programs
90 years on, evergreen objections & evergreen coup talk: People who are against social programs have grandchildren who are against social programs. Today’s arguments against big spending on infrastructure and social needs are the very same as the objections
Why Are We So Politically Gullible?
A Sticky Trump Addiction. Won’t You Please Help? I’m as politically gullible as the next guy. But I’m also part of a medically underserved population struggling to cure itself of a Trump addiction. It takes over our lives and
Another Stab at Normal Politics
Does anyone remember what they are? America is taking another stab at returning to whatever political normalcy is and making us one nation indivisible again. But after overwhelming tragedy, and four years of making America great and domestic terrorism…
I try to be amused…
When troubles arise, better people have a meaningful line of poetry at the ready to soothe the moment. Primitive that I am, here’s what I often resort to: ”I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused.“
It’s the first line of a long-forgotten Elvis Costello song. It’s about a bad break-up. The singer considers ending it all. Instead he tries, not altogether successfully, to be amused.
Profound? No. Poetic? Solve anything? Not really.
If you’re lucky, it doesn’t make you smart or at peace. Just somewhat amused.