[. . .]
That is not what we are dealing with here, however. We are dealing with a group of right wing glory seekers who chose long ago to eschew putting themselves on the line in favor of tough talk and empty posturing --- the Vietnam chickenhawks and their recently hatched offspring of the new Global War On Terrorism. These are men (mostly) driven by the desire to prove their manhood but who refuse to actually test their physical courage. Neither are they able to prove their virility as they are held hostage by prudish theocrats and their own shortcomings. So they adopt the pose of warrior but never actually place themselves under fire. This is a psychologically difficult position to uphold. Bullshitting yourself is never without a cost.
[. . .]
Now, I've learned that in combat (or in any similar high-stress, life and death situation) there are two types of people. Those who can and those who can't. You can't guess it about someone or yourself. You have to live the situation to find out. Those of us who've been there know talk is cheap. That's why the chickenhawks (and the 51% of the electorate who listen to them) piss me off so much. They have no idea what they're talking about. My grandfather (WW1 and WW2 on the German side) called them 'Movie Warriors'.
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