....admit it, you've all got an inferiority complex with respect to the Royal Navy. Not even one single mutiny to boast about so you had to make up this melodramatic twaddle.
We got John Mills, you got Bogart? Nuff said.
'I want the truth!'
'You can't handle the truth!'
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QUICK,... CALL A DOCTOR.. !!!!!!
shareDid you forget to take your morning medication?
shareDid you ever see the movie The Sand Pebbles (1966)? It was based upon a novel, by a US sailor, of American Gunboats operating in China in the 1920's and 30's. It had mentioned that an almost mutiny wasn't logged on to keep the record clean. I'm pretty sure that could have happened a number of times to save embarrasment and retirements and careers.
shareThe great Alec Guinness as Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia had a great line delivered (of course) flawlessly:
"With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me, it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable."
Substitute "conduct" for "mercy", "the US" for "Major Lawrence", and "Britain" for "me" - i.e., Feisal. The result is interesting to consider. Passion as a guide to conduct in governing and war opens the door to excesses and grave errors and taking on impossible goals. Good manners as such a guide leads to being locked into custom even where it is unable to deal with new realities.
Sir Alec's other great line, same movie: "Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men. Courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so." Yeah, Britain has tried war a bit, and the US has tried peace a bit, but the results have been disappointing.
Now that both nations have diluted their peoples and spent themselves into all but oblivion, and fallen from lofty positions into sorry pits, we can reflect on many things without the baggage of pride. Truly, you do have John Mills and Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness, and we have Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner and Lionel Barrymore and Al Pacino, and we can both be mighty pleased with that, because both peoples get to savor all of them.
Captain Bering Joy, in the US movie Down to the Sea in Ships could teach the Royal Navy through the all of its ages how to handle men on the sea. And Nimitz could teach them how to win battles and wars. Compare Midway and Phillipine Sea to Coronel and Jutland.
The British Navy. They were just a little more reserved in their approach. Toss a few shells then fall back to a safe distance and re-evaluate. They still fought sea battles as in the sailing ship days. American leaders were more aggressive in pressing attacks. The Brits are without doubt, some awesome sailors and shiphandlers. So are the Aussies and Kiwis. I guess when you live on an island you better be!
Remember Rabbit Ears with tin foil?
Bollocks, Limey!
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.