10-02-2021, 06:52 AM
Thought I might be on to something with this one, but surprised and gratified by the comments.
I'm aware of problems, particularly "fated" of which this is not even the twelfth definition. And using "less" twice.
To those concerned by both sides being Greeks, @RiverNotch has the idea: there were despicable characters on both sides (Paris, Agamemnon) and the only one without serious character flaws was Hector... on the other side. Of course Achilles' wrath, Patroclus' desperate desire to be worthy, etc., make the others all well rounded but not perfectly admirable. (I almost stuck in "hectoring Americans" by way of an epithet). Is it a shock that the Somali, Taliban, and Libyan opposition are Achilles? Even a suicide bomber is a hero to someone, and we all know that on a visceral level logic and patriotism can't reach.
On a personal note (which should go in a PS/spoiler but that may still be buggy) - read no further if you don't care to...
In ancient times when dinosaurs ruled the earth and I was a shiny-faced brownbar tending missiles, it was push-button warfare: you ran the punch cards, pushed the buttons, turned the keys, the missile blew a little smoke ring and took flight. The next you heard of it was from the pterodactyl-riders in Strike Assessment.
Today, from what I've read and seen, it's joystick warfare. You follow a tan Toyota pickup truck around for a couple of days, then finally pickle off a very small missile which you follow all the way down on video until it bursts through the cab roof and kills the guy in the passenger seat with a dam' SWORD - like a dumb-dumb bullet from "Roger Rabbit." While you watch from the drone, or in actuality from a hangar in Nevada.
I'm not saying this retail killing is worse than wholesale strategic nuclear hecatombs, but its precision is deceptive and being micro-tactical seems to rationalize an overall and complete lack of strategy.
I'm aware of problems, particularly "fated" of which this is not even the twelfth definition. And using "less" twice.
To those concerned by both sides being Greeks, @RiverNotch has the idea: there were despicable characters on both sides (Paris, Agamemnon) and the only one without serious character flaws was Hector... on the other side. Of course Achilles' wrath, Patroclus' desperate desire to be worthy, etc., make the others all well rounded but not perfectly admirable. (I almost stuck in "hectoring Americans" by way of an epithet). Is it a shock that the Somali, Taliban, and Libyan opposition are Achilles? Even a suicide bomber is a hero to someone, and we all know that on a visceral level logic and patriotism can't reach.
On a personal note (which should go in a PS/spoiler but that may still be buggy) - read no further if you don't care to...
In ancient times when dinosaurs ruled the earth and I was a shiny-faced brownbar tending missiles, it was push-button warfare: you ran the punch cards, pushed the buttons, turned the keys, the missile blew a little smoke ring and took flight. The next you heard of it was from the pterodactyl-riders in Strike Assessment.
Today, from what I've read and seen, it's joystick warfare. You follow a tan Toyota pickup truck around for a couple of days, then finally pickle off a very small missile which you follow all the way down on video until it bursts through the cab roof and kills the guy in the passenger seat with a dam' SWORD - like a dumb-dumb bullet from "Roger Rabbit." While you watch from the drone, or in actuality from a hangar in Nevada.
I'm not saying this retail killing is worse than wholesale strategic nuclear hecatombs, but its precision is deceptive and being micro-tactical seems to rationalize an overall and complete lack of strategy.
Non-practicing atheist