Fear and Loathing on the Learning Curve: Observations on Life, Tech and Web Design from a Slightly Misanthropic Mind

Chickenhawk

I just fin­ished read­ing Robert Mason’s Chickenhawk, the latest in a line of excep­tional books on war that I’ve been for­tu­nate enough to have fall into my hands. My takeaway quote was the fol­low­ing pas­sage — the cog­nit­ive dis­son­ance of those who fight our wars never writ more succinctly.

The clerk, a young woman, took my money and asked if I was return­ing from Vietnam. I said yes, proudly. She sud­denly glared at me and said, ‘Murderer.’ I stared at her for a long minute, feel­ing con­fused. Then I smiled. I real­ized that she was talk­ing about someone else.