Come a Little Bit Closer, David Halberstam

I am (still) reading The Coldest Winter, which is David Halberstam’s history of the Korean War. It’s available now in paperback, which I would recommend because it is a billion pages long, and the hardcover copy I am reading is so heavy that I only carry it with me about half the time. The heft of it is making it as hard to get through as the mountainous terrain of North Korea in the dead of winter! Almost! But seriously, it’s a pleasure and I really love it. Some familiar things that happened during that war: underestimation of the enemy because they weren’t white; allowing domestic politics to determine national security policy; and the folly, sometimes tragic, that comes when your leaders refuse to hear news that contradicts their plans. I’m looking at you, Korean War-era General Macarthur. A passage that rings especially true given ETN’s emphasis on the President’s role as Commander-in-Chief, and thus the importance of clear strong anti-torture directives coming from him:

“The very same men who will fight bravely under one commander will cut and run under another who projects his own fear. Great commanders are not just men gifted in making wise tactical moves, they are men who give out a sense of confidence, that it can be done, that it is their duty and their privilege to fight on that given day. Thus does the strength of any unit ideally feed down, from top to bottom. The commander generates strength in the officers immediately underneath him, and it works all the way down the chain of command.”

Autumn Song: I only discovered this song this week, and yet I cannot imagine my life (or yours) without it. Christine McVie, I wish YOU would come a little bit closer. Seriously, I never thought there’d be a better song called “Come a Little Bit Closer” than that by the venerable Jay and the Americans but this is better than, like, any song, ever, of any title. Really, I don’t even know how to write a bad song, let alone a beautiful one like this.

Autumn Song: I’ve been listening to Neil Young’s 1969 LP “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” all week, which would be perfect to listen to in someone’s 1969 wood-paneled basement, and while there are many songs I wish to and will share from it, I’ll pick the eponymous one today.