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| Stalin is rumored to have used the top of Hitler's skull as an ash tray. |
My impression of graduates from the United States military academies is that the top 90% of the graduates are dedicated life-long learners.
I attribute it to the fact that the person you measure up second-best might choose to use the top of your skull for an ash tray.
Dino is one of the military academy graduates I had the privilege of working with. Dino took a shine to me and took me under his wing.
Anthropology
One of Dino's passions was anthropology. He believes that there is nothing new under the sun.
I remember him telling me of a utopian, aboriginal society where young men were indentured to old, widowed women. The older women would teach the young men what it took to please a woman. In a similar way, young women were indentured to old widowers for the same purpose.
After the young person's mentor died, they were free to marry somebody much younger than themselves and in turn serve as mentors.
Dino thought this was a spiffy system. Why waste twenty years of your life figuring out by trial-and-error what satisfies your partner when an older mentor can train you in a month?
HTLV-1
I cannot remember what aboriginal society that Dino said hosted this custom, but I wonder if it was the native peoples of Australia's Northern territories.
The shingling of cohorts would defeat the normal firewalling between generations seen in more traditional social coupling. That is not to suggest that young women (and men) never dally with rich, older partners. What I am suggesting is that "sugar daddies" and "sugar mamas" are the exception rather than the default pattern.
"The rates of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1, or HTLV-1, infection are exceeding 40% among adults in remote regions of central Australia, with indigenous communities being the hardest hit..." -Source
Perhaps it is part of God's great plan that we not fraternize with older and younger generations so that we can carry our mistakes to the grave without poisoning future generations.
I pray that my biases, mistakes and misadventures die with me. That they not burden my children.
Don't we all! :-)
ReplyDeleteI have had the privilege and misfortune to serve under West Point graduates. Twenty five to thirty percent were admirable gentlemen. A few were inept in any situation more demanding than pay officer. The rest were ring knockers with a exaggerated idea of their abilities and knowledge. One I though should have been reprimanded at least for throwing classified documents into municipal trash. His defense was they hadn't taught that at Hudson High. Most of those existed the military at the end of their obligation. The ones that remained had learned that you should never assume you have accrued all possible knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThere is a reason things are usually done a certain way...
ReplyDelete