A Little Courage, Please

Mark Noonan

My Dad didn’t survive World War Two. He won it. Might not seem like much of a distinction but I think it important – survivors are people who merely endured…victors are people who did something. I think that we in the West have gotten into the habit of thinking of veterans as “survivors” because it suits the overall Left worldview that we should do so…the concept that war is always bad and never solves anything has been deeply embedded into the Western mind, and I do believe deliberately…to get Westerners out of the habit of defending the West.

I’ve talked about this a bit and it stems from World War One…which the Western elite started to talk about in terms of it being useless slaughter about ten years after the war ended. It really got going with things like the play Journey’s End in 1928…which, being written by a veteran of the trenches, can’t be totally condemned…but the whole depressing aspect of it with everyone miserable and doomed to die doesn’t cover all the ground. The play is set in the front lines in March of 1918 and the men there are, in a bit of a sense, doomed…it isn’t spoken of in the play but the characters are directly in the path of the most massive offensive ever conducted in war: Operation Michael. This was where the Germans sent the very best 72 divisions of their army against 29 British divisions in line…and it started with a 4 hour barrage where 3,500,000 shells were fired. The grim reality is that those British units in the front line were going to lose a lot – some were totally destroyed over a couple days fighting. It was quite horrific.

But it was also an amazing British victory. No operation of the war was more creditable to the British soldier than his response to Michael. The very best of Germany came at Tommy in overwhelming numbers and the British soldier stopped him cold…Michael was a total failure and that failure ensured Germany’s ultimate defeat in the war (the German plan was for Michael to knock the British army out of the war and then turn the whole German army against the weakened French and unready American armies). And remember, it was just regular British units…filled with average British men from all over the UK and the Empire. The German forces were picked men…units specially crafted and trained for this exact offensive. The best of Germany met the average of the British Empire…and got it’s Kraut ass kicked.

But the public mind on all of it is of a useless welter of slaughter deciding nothing. And it is like that for all great and brave efforts. Even our movies and stories about victories in World War Two have this element of the hopeless in it…that it was all bad. For post-WWII military efforts it just gets even worse…the hopelessness of useless effort and death often combined with a subtext that the West is a criminal enterprise. This, I think, is why we see all over the West a simple refusal to defend itself. We’ve all seen videos of “migrants” on busses and trains in Europe verbally and physically abusing women and a bunch of Western men stand around pretending their don’t notice it. Sure, if they did try to do anything they’d probably get arrested while the “migrant” skated…but the fact that they’ve allowed such a thing to be betrays complete cowardice…and I don’t think humans are by nature cowards. This is an imparted reality…something made. On purpose.

We do need to get a collective backbone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Audie Murphy. I’ve never faced combat. I have no idea how I’d behave in a life-threatening crisis. I hope I’d behave well…the lessons imparted to me by my combat-veteran father tell me that in a crisis I’m to swallow fear and do what needs to be done. I believe I’d give a good account of myself…that is, if I were on a bus and I saw a woman being abused, I would intervene. I wouldn’t care that I might get hurt or the authorities might arrest me afterwards…I would intervene because that is the right thing to do, consequences be damned. And we do see that in the USA when its totally absent elsewhere in the West…but we also know that it isn’t universal in the USA because we do get the stories where everyone did just stand around and let it happen.

Growing a spine is going to take a cultural shift – and that means a pop-cultural shift. We’re going to have to start retelling tales of heroism. More movies like The Alamo of 1960, less like Saving Private Ryan of 1998 – and, yes, I recognize the high quality in both films…but one is a tale of triumph in defeat the other a tale of defeat in triumph (after all, the key scene is a defense of a bridge against odds…and while most of the men died, the bridge was held…the evil Nazis were thwarted. A good outcome was obtained…but the movie ends it with it all being quite useless effort). It is a huge difference. And we need to get it back.

9 thoughts on “A Little Courage, Please”

  1. Tim's avatar Tim May 2, 2025 / 1:00 am

    I would advise not to make predictions on how you would react in the face of real combat. You can not even predict how you will react the second, third, or fourth time you are facing someone who wants to kill you. Unless you have been there, you just don’t know.

    I wish I had some better advice to give, I don’t. I would not want to be alone during the first try. Having comrades in arms at your side does help, some.

    But, if it does happen, I wish you good luck.

  2. Amazona's avatar Amazona May 2, 2025 / 8:28 am

    “I’ve never faced combat.  I have no idea how I’d behave in a life-threatening crisis. I hope I’d behave well…” is hardly a prediction of how he would react in the face of real combat. It’s the exact opposite.

  3. Amazona's avatar Amazona May 2, 2025 / 9:12 am

    And there goes Germany, repeating history. It is now considering “banning” an entire political party. Who wants to do that? one might ask. And the answer, as always, is “the Left”.

    “the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), which is calling for a party ban: after “German Spy Agency Officially Classifies AfD Party as ‘Extremist”—Are we seeing the pattern here? Set aside the European model for classifying parties by ideology, coyly using the term “center” to modify terms like “left” and “right”. The Left always postures as “center” no matter how radical it really is.

    The SPD is the Leftist party in Germany, and it is following the same strategy we have seen here in the United States. That is, targeting the conservative party, using a government agency to label it as “extremist” and then trying to get that party hamstrung and unable to campaign by “banning” it. (Here the Left followed the template but instead of “banning” the whole Republican Party just tried to get Trump off the ticket before the election.)

    So what is the reason the Left is using to try to “ban” the conservative party? First it had it declared “extremist” because, according to Germany’s federal intelligence agency “the populist political party aims to exclude certain population groups from ‘equal participation in society.” Yes, it IS the same battle to let immigrants take over a nation that we have been fighting here. We are bigger, so the ratio of illegals to citizens is smaller, but we have seen the same demagoguery in attacks on conservatives for wanting controlled immigration.

    Friedrich Merz is referred to as “the conservative leader” though he ran as “center-right” and the real conservatives, Alternative for Germany, came in second, ahead of the Left’s party, the allegedly “center”-left Social Democrats. Yet “Merz has vowed never to govern with the AfD, which came in second in the general election, even though doing so would ensure a clear majority” and is sworn to join forces with the Social Democrats. (Hint: If a “center”-right party joins forces with the Left, it is not conservative.)

    In the party’s first response to the report, the leader of a regional parliamentary group, Anton Baron, said: “It is sad to see the state of democracy in our country when the established parties now resort to the most politically questionable means to act against the strongest opposition party.”

    “This is solely about maintaining the power of the old parties,” he said separately in a post on X. “The fight against the AfD has become a fight against democracy itself. We won’t be intimidated!”

    The Left uses the same playbook in every country. When it gets a toehold in a nation, by pretending to be “not-quite-really-left” it then moves to shut out its opposition to remove competition for votes. In Germany we are now seeing the “not-quite-really-right” joining up with the allegedly “center” left to shut out and shut down the populist movement, which is proving to be a potential threat to its grip on the government.

    The federal agency in charge of labeling the Alternative for Germany is the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and it based its determination on ““intensive and comprehensive expert examination.” Based on this “expert” determination, “BfV said in a statement that AfD’s approach to ethnicity is “not compatible with the free democratic basic order.”

    So to preserve the “free democratic order” the Left is trying to eliminate the party that just came in second in the elections and therefore poses a potential threat to the Left’s control. held by both of the “center” parties.

    It’s the same battle of L v R, the same opposition to uncontrolled immigration being fought by the Left, the same pattern of a federal agency running interference for the Left, even the same claim that disqualifying a party is really a defense of democracy, i

    • Amazona's avatar Amazona May 2, 2025 / 9:41 am

      Germany is not the only European country with a populist uprising against uncontrolled immigration. Ireland is facing the same problem, as England wants to dump thousands of Muslim immigrants into tiny Irish villages

      Reports that migrant relocation programs were going to flood rural Irish locations with foreign elements raised eyebrows (and raised questions) last month as to the purpose of transplanting the third-world into outlying villages in the UK.  These same villages have been demographically unchanged for centuries.  

      The theory, which holds considerable validity, is that western countries are being destabilized from within by corrupt progressive leaders with the intent to upend traditional western society and replace it with a self-devouring multicultural soup that is easier to convert to globalism.  Rural areas of the west are commonly viewed as safe havens away from the corrosive politics of woke socialism, and the targeting of these places seems to verify everyone’s worst fears about open borders.  

      In one tiny village of 165 people the rather ominously (to me) named Department of Integration first moved a few hundred Ukrainian refugees into a converted manor house/hotel.

      Locals noted they had few problems with the Ukrainians because they seemed to easily integrate into the already existing community.  However, now that the government has their foot in the door of the village, they have decided to move the Ukrainians out and replace them with third-world migrants with non-western value systems.

      Because of numerous examples of rampant criminality and violence (from rape gangs to mass stabbings) brought by such migrants to major cities throughout Europe and the UK, locals worry that same ideology of dominance and exploitation will now take over their once quiet corner of Ireland.  The fact that around 80% of these migrants are single military age men gives little comfort to the residents.  

      Protests have erupted in Tipperary after it was revealed that at least 265 migrants would be relocated there, greatly outnumbering the indigenous population.

      Imagine a trip to Ireland to visit quaint villages and encountering patrols of masked Middle Eastern men of military age, patrolling the areas. https://twitter.com/i/status/1823483455180550144

      When patriot protests are organized, progressive NGOs with extensive resources bus in leftist activists to disrupt or silence them.  

      The transplantation of young migrant men has also proven to be a buffer for the government, as gangs of foreigners patrol the streets and attempt to intimidate locals into silence.  The trade-off is clear:  Leftist officials give migrants access to the bounty of the west, and migrants protect those officials from popular uprisings in return. 

      As X poster Michael O’Keefe has noted, Ireland is ground zero for population replacement.

  4. Amazona's avatar Amazona May 2, 2025 / 8:04 pm
  5. Amazona's avatar Amazona May 3, 2025 / 8:29 am

    In a breaking story late Friday evening, the Virginia Department of Corrections says members of the violent MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has listed as a terror organization in the U.S., and most of whom are illegal aliens, incarcerated at a state prison, stabbed correctional officers on Friday morning, according to multiple sources:

    The heinous melee broke out at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap around 9:45 a.m. when six inmates — five of whom are members of the notorious El Salvadoran gang — launched the premeditated attack, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. 

    “Five of the individuals responsible for this senseless attack should never have been in the country in the first place,” VADOC Director Chad Dotson said in a statement.

    Officials said the other prisoner allegedly involved in the attack, a man serving a second-degree murder sentence, is a U.S. citizen. All of the MS-13 gang members, according to the release, have been convicted of committing violence–including rape and murder.

    Dotson’s statement continued: 

    “Every single day, our officers put their lives on the line to ensure public safety for the more than 8.8 million people across the Commonwealth. This attack is an example of the dangers they face when they show up to work every day. Our officers are heroes’ and I commend the team at Wallens Ridge for their swift response.”

    Here is what we know about the victims’ condition–and thankfully, none of the injuries are fatal:

    Five officers were taken to outside hospitals following the attack, with three of those officers, including two who sustained minor injuries while responding to the blitz, have since been released.

    Two others remain hospitalized in stable condition, officials said. 

    If any of the five illegals came into the country during the Biden regime, I think he and/or Mayorkas could be charged under U.S. Code 1324.

    (A) Any person who—

    ((iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law; or

    (v)

    (I)

    engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding acts, or

    (II)

    aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts

    shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B)

    (B) A person who violates subparagraph (A) shall, for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs—

    (iii)

    in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) during and in relation to which the person causes serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of title 18) to, or places in jeopardy the life of, any person, be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both

    At least they were in prison, instead of being housed in a luxury hotel and given a credit card—or, in some states, a CDL.

  6. Amazona's avatar Amazona May 3, 2025 / 9:23 am

    One of the saddest things I have ever seen is a study showing the ways AI is most used in 2025, with the top three uses being

    1 Therapy & Companionship

    2 Organize Life

    3 Find Purpose

    The article comments on this:

    AI For Mental Health: Good or Bad?

    With mental health support severely underfunded and the Loneliness Epidemic only continuing, it’s no surprise AI has emerged as a viable outlet for people to get some support in their life.

    Experts say they can see its usefulness for teaching mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy to users.

    However, the problem occurs when AI is used as a replacement for actual human relationships, preventing deeper human connections, in turn exacerbating loneliness.

    I can’t help but wondering if there is a correlation with the relentless rage and resentment we see so much of on the Left and the “replacement for actual human relationships, preventing deeper human connections” as my perception of Leftists is of ceaseless negativity and fury and I find it difficult to imagine these people in warm, caring relationships. Needing to turn to Artificial Intelligence for help in finding purpose, or for companionship, just seems to tie in with the characteristics I see so often in Leftist posts and “protest” behaviors.

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