All War Depends Upon It

 

“You hid in that ditch because you think there’s still hope. But, Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier’s supposed to function. Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it.” — Captain Ronald Speirs to Private Albert Blithe, Band of Brothers

Give up hope? I’m not one to argue with Saint Paul on the theological virtue of hope, and neither am I advocating we adopt the tactics of antifa or BLM, but something rings tragically true about the good Captain’s statement. I’m “hoping” Ricochet’s warrior caste will have something to say about it, so I guess I haven’t given up on it completely. 

But, I have found, after a number of significant tragedies in my life, that hope for resolution in this life is unhelpful to basic functioning, at best. I could hope that the drug used to treat Little Miss Anthrope’s brain tumor will cause it to shrink and the results will show up in the next three-month MRI, and the next one, and the next one. . . I could hope that her condition (NF Type 1) will not further devastate her body and she’ll be able to lead a normal life one day. I could hope that Elder will overcome the effects of her medical conditions and treatments and that she will thrive at Hillsdale and reach her goals. 

Some are more mundane hopes, like the hope I could have every afternoon when Colorado’s notoriously violent thunderstorms roll in that the hail won’t trash the garden I love and tend. 

But, these hopes are debilitating when they don’t pan out. If I give into them, it makes me want to passively sit in a ditch and watch the battle rage around me. I stop fighting the everyday fight: get up, bathe, dress, take care of my family, tend the garden. . .

Politics is war, too. Some of us hope that, after Donald Trump, we can return to more conventional (Reagan) Republicanism. These same people are sitting in a ditch radioing in their complaints to Decorum Conservative HQ about how Trump is conducting the war. He’s doing it all wrong!!! Meanwhile, well before Donald Trump ran for president, the forces of the Left captured all the cultural high ground of idea transmission, from academia, social media, entertainment media, news media. . . and it is holding these advantageous positions and, rapidly now, taking more of them. “But, Trump tweets!” is just an act of capitulation, or worse — betrayal. 

Life is war, too. It’s a constant battle against princes and principalities — against our own fallen nature. This is what Saint Paul is getting at with his theological virtue: without God, we’re hopeless. There’s no way we win this war on our own.

I once commented on a profound lesson I learned from the BBC drama Apparitions, about a Catholic exorcist in London. In the two episodes I watched, it is Satan who gives hope to the suffering at the price of their souls. He actually keeps his promises to win the temporal battle (to cure leprosy, for example), but by enticing the person into the ditch, he condemns the victim to hell. In real life drama, Jesus is the one who says, “take up your cross and follow.”

“Our perfect rest is Paradise. Here below we must stay near Jesus, and upon earth, Jesus presents himself above all upon the cross. That is his official portrait. He gives us little joys so that we may be able to endure life and merit our heaven, but he blends a portion of the cross with them. He will certainly give you the grace to manage your affairs if you confide yourself to his love. Don’t think too much of the future. Live in the present. The future will bring its own grace when the trial comes. . .

“Blosius, a great Benedictine mystic, says that the best form of mortification is to accept with all our heart, in spite of our repugnance, all that God sends or permits, good and evil, joy and suffering. I try to do this. Let us try to do it together, and to help one another to reach that absolute abandonment into the hands of God. . .

“Keep your soul set at large and act with the holy liberty of the children of God who has taken possession of your soul and if you abandon yourself without reserve to his wisdom and love, he will send you many mortifications far better than any you could choose for yourself.” — Blessed Columba Marmion, O.S.B.

In my own phrasing, lay down the struggle with temporal hope; take up the eternal fight and get out of that ditch, soldier!


Epilogue: Private Blithe did climb out of that ditch and learn to kill Germans. In 1944 (corrected), he was leading a patrol when he was injured and, unlike as portrayed in the series, he did not die of those injuries in 1948. He survived and made it home, but died of a perforated ulcer in 1967 in a German hospital. He’s buried in Arlington Cemetery, PA. He fought the good fight. RIP.

Published in Group Writing
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 38 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    PappyJim (View Comment):

    Suspira (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist: Politics is war, too. Some of us hope that, after Donald Trump, we can return to more conventional (Reagan) Republicanism. These same people are sitting in a ditch radioing in their complaints to Decorum Conservative HQ about how Trump is conducting the war. He’s doing it all wrong!!!

    I have long loved the Band of Brothers quote. It’s paradoxical, but it really helps. So, yes, I’ve surrendered all hope that Trump will try a bit of self-discipline and be a better man. Acceptance and resignation. That’s the ticket. But I’m not giving up my God-given right to complain. That is an ancient and honored (by repetition, anyway) tradition of soldiering.

    Old saw in the Corps: “The company is happy. How can you tell? They’re all bitching.” When there is no complaining watch out!

    Funny thing, though, at the end of the Bastogne episode, the epilogue says the narrative is Patton came to save the 101st, but no one in the 101st ever admitted that they needed saving.

    My father-in-law was Airborne Ranger (medic in Korea, ran a supply depot in Vietnam). That sounds just like him.

    Obviously Patton saved the German command any further embarrassment. 

    • #31
  2. Suspira Member
    Suspira
    @Suspira

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    It’s hard to believe that Winters ended the war as a major and Speirs as a lieutenant (as best I can recall).

    Speirs retired as a lieutenant colonel.

    • #32
  3. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Suspira (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    It’s hard to believe that Winters ended the war as a major and Speirs as a lieutenant (as best I can recall).

    Speirs retired as a lieutenant colonel.

    Sure.  But he stayed in after the war.

    • #33
  4. JoshuaFinch Coolidge
    JoshuaFinch
    @JoshuaFinch

    Some fight back here.

    Beautiful fight back below!

    About 5 minutes in, you can see she’s doing a great job.

    Cops arrest her as she shouts “Refund the police” and “Jesus matters.”

    • #34
  5. Suspira Member
    Suspira
    @Suspira

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Suspira (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    It’s hard to believe that Winters ended the war as a major and Speirs as a lieutenant (as best I can recall).

    Speirs retired as a lieutenant colonel.

    Sure. But he stayed in after the war.

    Ah, yes. I see your point now.

    • #35
  6. Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing) Member
    Sisyphus (hears Xi laughing)
    @Sisyphus

    JoshuaFinch (View Comment):

    Some fight back here.

    Beautiful fight back below!

    About 5 minutes in, you can see she’s doing a great job.

    Cops arrest her as she shouts “Refund the police” and “Jesus matters.”

    Happy Lord’s day!

    • #36
  7. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    JoshuaFinch (View Comment):

    Some fight back here.

    Beautiful fight back below!

    About 5 minutes in, you can see she’s doing a great job.

    Cops arrest her as she shouts “Refund the police” and “Jesus matters.”

    Huh, I wonder how that interview with the New York Times reporter went and when we’ll see it in print. 

    Not holding my breath.

    • #37
  8. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    That’s what I’m talkin’ about, though. If we’re unwilling to be attacked on social media, lose our jobs, and get arrested, we shouldn’t expect to win this war.

    • #38
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.