Whoever this guy Jerome Almon is, Snowflake's personal lawyer seems to like his emails.
So the email which made the New York Times does that old grade school thing: "Compare and Contrast." Well, actually, he did the compare part, but never got around to the contrast thing. Maybe he didn't make it that far in grade school.
So George Washington and Robert E. Lee compare:
1. Both owned slaves.
2. Both rebelled against a ruling government.
3. Battle tactics of both are still taught today at West Point--although in Lee's case, one might wonder if they are taught as a what-not-to-do and Washington basically retreated a lot and developed the hide and seek technique.
4. Both saved America. Well, that really is news, especially to U.S. Grant. Lee, as I recall, tried to destroy America, although perhaps I quibble.
5. Both were
a/ Great Men
b/ Great Americans
c/ Great Commanders
a&b above are unprovable and undeniable since they are simply statements of emotional expression. "C" is debatable, since Lee lost. There was Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, which Lee insisted upon. Lee was relentlessly aggressive, which worked well for a few years, but eventually, it ground his army down. Bold is not always the best generalship--just ask the Wehrmacht after Hitler kept pushing them to attack and attack right into the Russian winter. Aggressive makes you look good until the enemy adapts.
6. You cannot be for Washington and against Lee because there is little or no difference between them.
Setting aside the question of how you can be "for" a person or "against" a person, we can now look to the similarities Mr. Almon did not note:
1. Both were Virginians.
2. Both were white.
3. Both were in the upper 1%, economically speaking, at some times in their lives.
4. Both rode horses.
5. Both breathed air.
6. Both pooped in the woods.
Now for some differences:
1. General Washington was not buried with his horse. Lee was, and underground, the two of them, on campus at Washington & Lee University. Washington was afraid of being buried alive, so he was put in an above ground sarcophagus.
Both men do lie in repose next to their wives, which might be added to the "compare" list above, but it is not nearly as much fun as talking about being buried with your horse.
2. General Washington had wooden teeth. Far as I know, Lee had his originals.
3. Washington may well have been a eunuch, judging by his eunechoid habitus and failure to impregnate Martha. Lee was a flirt.
4. Washington did in fact, save the nation we now call the United States of America. Lee fought hard to destroy that nation.
5. If a patriot is someone who is on your own side and who fights so your side wins, then Washington is a patriot; that would make General Lee, for all his white hair, well groomed beard and nifty gray uniform with the gold buttons, a traitor.
This listing of similarities is Rush Limbaugh think, this sort of phony marshaling of details which make you sound like you've done some thinking and research, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.
Sort of Shakespearean really. Got to admire it.
So the email which made the New York Times does that old grade school thing: "Compare and Contrast." Well, actually, he did the compare part, but never got around to the contrast thing. Maybe he didn't make it that far in grade school.
 |
| Patriot |
So George Washington and Robert E. Lee compare:
1. Both owned slaves.
2. Both rebelled against a ruling government.
3. Battle tactics of both are still taught today at West Point--although in Lee's case, one might wonder if they are taught as a what-not-to-do and Washington basically retreated a lot and developed the hide and seek technique.
4. Both saved America. Well, that really is news, especially to U.S. Grant. Lee, as I recall, tried to destroy America, although perhaps I quibble.
5. Both were
a/ Great Men
b/ Great Americans
c/ Great Commanders
a&b above are unprovable and undeniable since they are simply statements of emotional expression. "C" is debatable, since Lee lost. There was Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, which Lee insisted upon. Lee was relentlessly aggressive, which worked well for a few years, but eventually, it ground his army down. Bold is not always the best generalship--just ask the Wehrmacht after Hitler kept pushing them to attack and attack right into the Russian winter. Aggressive makes you look good until the enemy adapts.
6. You cannot be for Washington and against Lee because there is little or no difference between them.
Setting aside the question of how you can be "for" a person or "against" a person, we can now look to the similarities Mr. Almon did not note:
1. Both were Virginians.
2. Both were white.
3. Both were in the upper 1%, economically speaking, at some times in their lives.
4. Both rode horses.
5. Both breathed air.
6. Both pooped in the woods.
 |
| Buried with his horse |
Now for some differences:
1. General Washington was not buried with his horse. Lee was, and underground, the two of them, on campus at Washington & Lee University. Washington was afraid of being buried alive, so he was put in an above ground sarcophagus.
Both men do lie in repose next to their wives, which might be added to the "compare" list above, but it is not nearly as much fun as talking about being buried with your horse.
2. General Washington had wooden teeth. Far as I know, Lee had his originals.
3. Washington may well have been a eunuch, judging by his eunechoid habitus and failure to impregnate Martha. Lee was a flirt.
4. Washington did in fact, save the nation we now call the United States of America. Lee fought hard to destroy that nation.
5. If a patriot is someone who is on your own side and who fights so your side wins, then Washington is a patriot; that would make General Lee, for all his white hair, well groomed beard and nifty gray uniform with the gold buttons, a traitor.
This listing of similarities is Rush Limbaugh think, this sort of phony marshaling of details which make you sound like you've done some thinking and research, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.
Sort of Shakespearean really. Got to admire it.
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