WE WERE JUST WONDERING

by Alex Hutchins

Vic Adamus (my We Were Wondering blog partner) and I formed an alliance when we were both on the playground in the 3^rd grade (I’m not even going to try to guess what year that was) and there was a bully beating up on him, so I beat up on the bully and our alliance has continued until now and will not doubt continue long after we are both dead and gone.

I started this piece this way (even though I have mentioned the start of our friendship before) because today is the anniversary of the bombing of Pearly Harbor, Hawaii and the event that brought the United States into World War II.  Very few of those returning soldiers are still alive today and my father who died in 2002 was one of them.

Even though the US was reluctant to enter the war, she and her allies were successful, just as I was successful on the playground years ago and can, looking back, bear witness to the slogan:  Might is Right.  It is because of this slogan that, throughout history, many males and females have pledged themselves to this slogan, and while many were gallant and brave, they all still perished in an attempt to prove the slogan correct.

Is it correct?  Do we believe that the strongest, regardless of their politics, ethnic cultures, faiths and beliefs, and creativities are always right or represent truth or should be looked up to as pillars of justice?  And yet, that is exactly how we, as human beings, at least in the US, live our lives today.

In all athletic competitions, the winners are placed upon a pedestal and worshipped from the standpoint of financial contributions to their coaches or schools or increased ticket sales the following year.  We have champion boxers and race car drivers.  In politics, those that win are the ones who pass our laws and manage our country, approving or disapproving the wars in which young men and women are sent to decide who is right.

There is a “might is right” relationship with law enforcement, our parents, our spouse, our Churches, our schools and classrooms and among investors who vie for control of a company.  All of this is with the underlying assumption that “might is right.”  And, my question still stands, is this correct?

I am reminded of the phrase, “he who wins the war writes the history books,” that future generations will study as truth and the myth is perpetuated decade after decade, generation after generation, century after century.  And, it probably all started on some playground years ago.