What Georgie Patton would say, about the USA today....

I've got a feeling that Patton would be smart enough to realize our own 'leaders' are the greatest and most immediate threat to the survival of the nation and have been since 1945, hence the 12 days of isolation preceding his death.

 

Don't make a saint of George....he doesn't deserve it.

Yes and then George would have have gone into some random military hospital and bitch slapped some random patient because they weren't manning up to the fight against Islam.

The man had an ego that didn't permit of anyone getting a bigger piece of the public relations action than he did. His only serious competitor in that regard would have been Douglas Macarthur. Even though he was an operational level commander that could be relied upon to get results,he was not universally loved by the soldiery under his command who had very mixed feelings about him as their commander. Some referred to him as "Old Blood and Guts"..."his guts and our blood" as some of the soldiery sardonically put it. He was viewed by some as wasteful of lives, especially when it was a case of pushing harder and faster than those damned limeys (General Bernard Law Montgomery being his real enemy rather than Hitler). It was something of a minor miracle that Generals Omar Bradley and Ike hadn't sacked him for insubordination....but who will send a mule, even if it does bite and kick its other team mates as much as the opposition team, to the knackers if it is getting its team successfully to the "Rose Bowl".

There was not much in the way of milk of human kindness coming from George's tit. His inability to comprehend that psychological battle casualties were indeed battle casualties, led him to abuse one or two of his own soldiers for no better reason than that in his ignorance he conflated battle stress / post traumatic disorder with cowardice.

It is in some ways fortunate for America that George didn't make it into the first significant battles of the Cold War, such as Korea. George would have ignored Truman and taken the war over the border from Korea well on the way to Peking! In the event America would have, and actually did much better with General Ridgeway who could at least recognise that American lives were precious and not an inexhaustible resource to be frittered away in the service of his own ego.

George was a man of his time. A dinosaur who was successful at fighting other dinosaurs in a conventional general war environment with all of the material support for prosecuting the war that comes with the virtually universal political support of a whole nation. As far as the ability to command a coalition of forces against an elusive enemy in modern assymetrical warfare??? I think he'd be spending more time bitch slapping the commanders and political leaders of his own coalition forces than doing anything seriously effective against Bin LAdin and those of his ilk.

Yes, George had his moments of tactical and operational level brilliance; that can't be denied, but a hagiography of the man is not warranted and unhelpful in addressing the issue of terrorism. Demonising Islam and muslims is probably not going to be particularly useful or helpful in that respect either.

George had his moments both good and bad but he was a man with flaws who doesn't deserve elevation to secular sainthood. Perhaps the achievement that the conservative right revere him most for was his role in clearing men, woman and children from the Bonus March campsites in 1932. Major George S Pattern with Major Eisenhower among others under the command of General Douglas Macarthur used deadly force to clear Bonus March protesters, resulting in the death of three protesters. George wasn't averse to following dubious orders in providing aid to the Federal Government against its own citizens...yes, George was a very "loyal" "patriot".

* highlighting and underlining is my own. - VC

 

Chello...You jealous ???
He was there ....!!! and never said a bad thing about the man...!

 

George doesn't make a very convincing spokesman....

George doesn't make a very convincing spokesman for sectarian hatred.

No Gator, I'm not jealous of George.....though we do have things in common with each other. We are alike in being flawed human beings who love their respective countries and both served their countries loyally. I don't begrudge George his fame at all. I am a person for whom fame is unimportant. Fame has as often been baneful as beneficial to the famous person, whether they sought fame or not. I am a grey man and am happy to be so...without any feelings of envy whatsoever, be it envy of fame, fortune or fabulously good looks.

I have no doubt that he was liked by a number of soldiers that served under his command....he was an inspirational man, with a talent for inspirational rhetoric. However, he was in equal part also quite a reviled man by a number of soldiers under his command, who considered him wasteful of soldier's lives. Appeal to the fallacy of the anecdotal doesn't drag him over the line into secular saint hood.

The Anecdotal Fallacy

Appeal to authority (indeed a dead authority who can't speak for himself) also doesn't validate the venomous content inherent in the attachment posted in post #1 of this thread. In appealing to authority, it is best to know the whole picture about that authority, and quite frankly, not all that is known about George is all that admirable....sure he was a foul mouthed SOB, but that don't make his conscription from beyond the grave in supporting the emotive religious hatred and slurring packaged in the spam e-mail any more valid: it just merely serves to polarise opinions within a society and doesn't make any sensible, rational contribution to the issue of dealing with terrorism.

Logical Fallacy: Appeal to Misleading Authority

 

Ok Chello +1...So we can get on the same page from time to time...I like..
Chuck Norris
Ellie Mae Clampett
Gen.George Patton

lol...

 

Indeed you are so right, Gator....except

Indeed you are so right....except.

There are things that I like about George....and there are things that I dislike about George

We would be both dragging Ellie Mae into the cot....but...not at the same time....I'm not into 3sums!

There is absolutely nothing redeeming about Chuck whatsoever!!!!

Vive La Difference! ; )

 

insulted?

I think the United States just got insulted in the last paragraph of post #5.

 

Yeah...The underlying message is for American's to ''Man up''...Somebody missed it...lol

 

I'm not sure how you construed that I was insulting the USA. I was critical of those who would thoughtlessly buy the message nested in the spam e-mail. That may represent some Americans, but it would not represent the whole of the USA. I am confidant that there are many Americans who are quite capable of seeing the spam e-mail for what it is...a poisonous piece of jingoistic sectarian hate mongering, being presented as patriotic flag waving.

I got the "Man up" message, but the reality is that the outcome of fighting terrorism will depend upon what human organs we use to do it with....Brains or testicles.....Brainless testosterone causes more pointless bar fights than any other thing that I know of. Terror will be defeated by judicious use of force, guided by a reasoning and rational brain....hands down!

 

I think he would also say what the hell has happen to my beloved United States Of America? To her son's and daughter's to their self pride, dedication and love of country? Be men stand up fight for what is right and die for a just cause! Some of the older guys I've heard talk about him said he done what other men couldn't have and he was a Bastard on the battle field but they loved him and would follow him to hell and back no question.

 

Had an uncle who was a tanker under his command. He never said anything about him that didn't start with "that SOB" including "if that SOB said we was going after ol Beelzebub we woulda just jumped in an wound em up an headed south." He had a great deal of respect for the general. Said he always looked after them the best he could. Wouldn't order them to go anywhere he wouldn't go as well and often did. Unc went through three tanks and two purple hearts under him so I guess he would know what kind of leader he was.

 

Excuse me, but why is it every damn forum I go to, there are Aussies with their mouth going with something bad about the US?

Worry bout your own damn country and maybe, just maybe, you would have some more gun rights and other rights instead of coming online bitching about the way we do things. And usually their post contain something about the US minding its own business....PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH, IDIOTS

Ok, rant off.....ban me if you want, I am sick of seeing it everywhere.

Sounds to me someone has country envy

 

I saw an interview in the late 60s with the GI that Patton slapped and he held no ill feelings twards the General and was quite satisfied with the apoligy that Patton issued, The GI said that Patton was most likley suffering from fatigue and stress from the war just like a lot of others. I feel since the person most effected by the incident (except Patton) had put it behind him, that is the least the rest of us can do.

 

Chello I would add Monte to the list with Patton and MacA

 

I pass also Chello...You do know that she live's about an hour away from me...To the east...