By: Nathaniel Long

Nathaniel Long — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:09:31 +0000

Dear Young Lady,
I saw all three minutes and twenty-eight seconds of the video to which you made reference, maybe the “American Way”? I don’t think it is always true that feeling you need to mention something means it is probably less true. I think it important to recognize that the singer’s message seems to resonate with American soldiers by and large. I don’t know many soldiers who I could imagine would not get some rush from hearing the suggestive lyrics which broach the topic of lascivious boot impalings of our enemy combatants. They are on our payroll. We are a democracy. We are ultimately responsible for the tenor of those we train to defend us.
It’s easy to dismiss this the gung-ho response to Toby’s performance as attributable to those who wanted to buy tickets to hear him. But I spent 4 1/2 months in the military, basic training and then learning Korean, and I got the same sense, from perhaps 90 percent of my comrades in arms. Fortunately, I shared a room in the language school’s barracks with Lawrence Benz, a Roman Catholic who shared a strong interest in Kierkegaard, which must have been one factor to make for more interesting conversations than I would otherwise have expected with a luck-of-the-draw roommate assignment system. We met in basic training and elected to room together.
You know, the young women in uniform seemed to share the same sentiments as the majority, and in similar force, maybe 90 percent. A boot is a rather blunt, rough tool for dealing with minutae of cultural differences. And as such, it is easier. Charles Thomas Davis, my New Testament teacher at ASU once told me that the only advantage of a lie is that it seems to be easier in the short run. I believe we kid ourselves when we imagine that the general tenor of our troops esprit de corps is beyond our control. We get what we pay (and train) for. If we want something cheap and effective, as a way to defend our nation, even though the means may be offensive to our moral sentiments, then shame on us. Voice it fully and clearly, to the root, please.

Comments on: Tutu-isms: Yes I Will Gladly Stand Up Next To You…

By: Nathaniel Long