The tragedy of our current farce is defeat without war and retreat in war, due to a general’s disregard for the chain of command. Fanatical in his actions toward China, and fatalistic in his words before Congress, the general—like his civilian counterpart—is an icon to some and a false idol to many.
The two, one a Caesar with the loyalty of Brutus, the other a Bonaparte among bureaucrats, are the reason we lost China. But enough about General Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci, as they make General MacArthur and President Truman sound right; as they make the gulf between the general and the president, a divide as wide and deep as Leyte Gulf, seem as shallow as Currituck Sound; as they make the two one, what with the general’s insistence on victory and the president’s emphasis on the unconditional surrender of the enemy.
In Milley and Fauci lie the vices of MacArthur and Truman.
In Milley lies MacArthur’s charge against the Bonus Army, while in Fauci lies flourish.
In the beyond, beyond our ability to scroll to see or touch to text, lies the answer to what ails us. In three words, the answer is: Duty, Honor, Country.
Despite vanity equal to his valor, MacArthur embodied those words, as did Truman, despite his differences with MacArthur. Despite pressure from Congress to name names, and because of his refusal to name those who had hazed him at West Point, MacArthur kept his honor. Despite his silence, MacArthur sought to end hazing and strengthen the Cadet Honor Code.
MacArthur was a teenager when he first spoke before Congress, and a septuagenarian when he delivered his farewell address to a joint session of Congress. In contrast, Milley is a sexagenarian who refuses to resign his commission or renounce his entreaties to China. He is, however, critical of those who say he’s woke.
Were he to do an about-face, and support the advance of political morality, freedom of economic enterprise, and social justice, were he to condemn imperious direction and the shame of subjugation, were he to say this much—and more—he’d be quoting MacArthur. But Milley is no orator, and political karaoke isn’t oratory, no matter what this man says.
The same is true for Fauci, who either encrypts what he encapsulates and renders unto the page a rendering of the Caesar cipher, or can’t read what he writes, because he betrays the words of Jefferson and Reagan, and refutes the words said to Reagan by an avowed Democrat. He finishes the insult by misinterpreting Truman, saying (in effect) we’re all Republicans, and today, all doctors are Democrats who should give us Hell.
After a year of misconduct by Milley, and two years of misrule under Fauci, now is the time—it’s long past time—for us to tell these men to go to Hell.
Much as they’d like us to die and fade away, we have a duty to live and a country to defend.
We must not lose our honor.