Tag: Texas

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Idiotic Folk Songs

Donovan Leitch, the Scottish folksinger (best known for “Mellow Yellow”) inexplicably recorded an insipid song, “Remember the Alamo” on “What’s Bin Did and What’s Bin Hid”, around 1966 I think. It was always an oddity, released, as it was, in the late 1960’s, amid a plethora of antiwar songs like “Billy, Don’t be a Hero”. As a single, it failed to chart and was withdrawn amid a dispute between record labels. Donovan became the very emblem of 1960’s Flower Child, visiting the Maharishi Yogi, singing about meadows and hurly-gurlies and Jennifer Juniper, who was actually Patti Boyd’s entrancing younger sister.

“Remember the Alamo” repeats the myth of Travis drawing a line in the sand with his sword, challenging his men to fight an overwhelmingly large fast approaching Mexican force.

A hundred and eighty
were challenged by Travis
to die…

Doesn’t that put it eloquently?

This is an unusually perverse myth designed to ameliorate the perception that Travis forced his men to die in an utterly futile battle in order to gratify his own perverse ambition.

If only… sure, if there was ever a situation in which a soldier really gave up his life so that others could live or be free, sure, that would be a hell of an honorable thing to do.

It has almost never been done.

It is believed to be done every time a soldier points his gun at someone.

Soldiers are there to kill for their country– not to die for their country. There is not a general in the world who has any real use for a soldier who would die for his country. Certainly Exxon and Dupont and General Motors don’t need large numbers of young deluded males to travel to a foreign country and kill themselves. They need large numbers of young deluded males to travel to a foreign country to kill other young deluded males and take their oil.

Even suicide bombers need to do it in a crowd.

Fear not little darling of dying
If this world be
sovereign and free
For we’ll fight to the last
for as long as liberty be

What the hell is the point of “sovereign and free” if you are dead? And is that really what you are fighting for?

James Bowie, incidentally, is described in some accounts as, among other things, a “slave-trader”. This doesn’t get mentioned often, if at all, in other accounts of his life.  It doesn’t get mentioned in the song.

 

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No Historians

There are seven members of the conservative bloc on the board, but they are often joined by one of the other three Republicans on crucial votes. There were no historians, sociologists or economists consulted at the meetings, though some members of the conservative bloc held themselves out as experts on certain topics.

NY Times, March 12, 2010.

This is the Texas Board of Education making decisions about text books for millions of students. This is an important decision: these men are entrusted with a serious responsibility. What should our children study in school? How will their perspectives on life be shaped for years to come? How should their education as citizens be guided?

Well, whatever we do, let’s not get an expert on any of the subject areas were are establishing guidelines for. Heavens no.

I wonder if any citizens of Texas realize how close they have come to the 18th century? The only things missing are signs and wonders. Then I wonder if any of them care about how the state is perceived by outsiders. Well, we know the true believers in this movement certainly don’t care. The question is, does Mr. & Mrs. Mainstream care, as they travel through Europe, and identify themselves, and watch people nod and go, “Oh, you’re from there.” Tell me, have you seen any flying saucers lately? Mr. And Mrs. Mainstream reply, “no. Have you tried to open a business lately. Notice how many restrictions there are? How many permits you need? How long it takes to get approvals from the various bureaucracies?”

And the European says, “and how’s your health care?”