In an early version of his 2nd Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln wrote of the Civil War that that: “…each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong.” In his eloquent, spare style Lincoln reduced Just War theory down to a single line. There are […]

Author’s Note: Cold and gray here – winter in the Tidewater – the dogs are looking for warm spots… Cold and gray, a north wind blows, Dry leaves tumble across the yard, A line of gold marks the dawn, But brown and dead the sward. Turn my back to the wind, It’s cold, and hard […]

If you ever get the chance to visit Plymouth Plantation, the re-creation of the town of Plymouth, circa 1631, that sits just outside of present Plymouth, Mass, I highly encourage it. It has been years since I have been but I remember going late in the year – a raw November day, the wind coming […]

Author’s Note: This whole thing just makes my head feel like it’s about to explode….Arrias In 1942, a short while after the US landed in North Africa, several US soldiers were convicted of raping a local woman. They were tried and found guilty. The commanding general – George Patton, approved their sentence and had them […]

The reason an heroic movie, an heroic character, attracts us is simple: vicariously, we become heroes. Whatever the scenario, we place ourselves in it – Ben Hur in the galley, the homesteaders on the high plains, or perhaps Schindler saving his workers at “Emalia.” At the same time, we know we’ll never have to actually […]

I recall thinking he looked old and frail. I was 14, it was my freshman year in high school and I remember him sitting there, on one of the love seats that my mom and dad had in the den, between the dining room and the living room, in that beautiful house we lived in […]

Author’s Note: My Muse and I were reading several accounts of life in the trenches around Avdiivka – could have been the Somme or Verdun a little more than a hundred years ago… – Arrias Very Wrong The trenches are long and dark and dank, Always hot or always cold, The men climb out and […]

In an interesting development the Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Army (the Ukrainian equivalent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) released an essay last week, just as an interview was published in The Economist. In the essay and interview it was reported that Gen Zaluzhnyi said the war was “at a […]

Author’s Note: A less passionate issue from my Muse… – Arrias Blue Circle The world is just a blue circle, Just dark blue water is what you see, Even from 30,000 feet, All there is, is sea. The ship is fixed, it doesn’t move, The ocean just flows past, But we seem to remain in […]

Author’s Note: My Muse has a burr under her saddle about things… – Arrias What Makes Sense? It doesn’t make much sense to me All that is going on, Terrorists conduct a raid On a warm, clear dawn. Raping, burning, killing, Civilians, all unarmed. More than a thousand so they say, Hundreds more badly harmed. […]