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Flying straight into oblivion
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It's around 4:30 on Thursday afternoon and the Blue Angels are soaring over North Beach, in the middle of a dress rehearsal for this weekend's editon of their annual Fleet Week visit to San Francisco. It's a visit I used to enjoy. Not so much anymore.
I'm a lifelong military history buff who likes both Fleet Week and airshows (although, admittedly, I prefer the deep-throttled drone of World War II fighters and bombers to the shrill efficiency of today's not-very-interesting warbirds). So I'm not objecting on moral grounds, although I certainly understand those who do. It's not really something I can put my finger on, in fact ... not one thing that suddenly changed my mind.
Rather, I think it's the cumulative effect of all the BS that's going on in this country right now, and, to be honest, has been going on for decades, if not forever. Maybe it's just more visible now. It's the gulf between our rich and poor, the ignorance of our poorly educated children, the intellectual and aesthetic bankruptcy of our popular culture. It's our crass consumerist habits, our venal leaders and our I've-got-mine-screw-you siege mentality. It's our exploitation of other nations to slake the unslakable thirst of our voracious capitalist markets, and then wrapping ourselves in the flag of self-righteousness when someone occasionally hit us back. It's waving that flag without thinking, even when that flag is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Face it. American flag lapel pins aside, this country is a godawful mess.
So displays of martial prowess, even of the most benign and skilled variety, seem totally out of place. What the heck this, anyway? The dying days of the Roman Empire? If it is, well, fly on boys, fly on, and fulfill our historical destiny.
But if we're planning on hanging around for a while longer in any relevant way, let's cut the tough talk, take this bounty that's been laid at our feet and do something useful with it. Let's lose the bread and circuses, roll up our sleeves and try, as much as possible, to right this sinking ship. Wall Street criminals aside, this remains the wealthiest country on earth. We can feed the poor, house the homeless, help the damaged, care for the sick and educate our kids. We can hang on to our jobs instead of sending them away. We can tighten our belts and hang together during the tough times and go out and do the hamster dance around the Maypole when happy days are here again.
We can be an idealistic nation with a vision of a shared humanity, instead of a beady-eyed twerp barricaded with guns in some mountaintop redoubt.
Flying in tight formation has its visceral charms, to be sure. These planes are a sight to see and the skills of the Blue Angels pilots are jaw-dropping. It was a great show. While it lasted.
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