Rest In Peace, W

I watched some of the three days of memorial events for George Herbert Walker Bush, and couldn’t help being drawn back to another time in our nation’s history. The contrast with Washington today was stark, and not flattering.

So, before the memory of those events fades - as everything seems to do these days - it would be a good idea to look at what happened and what it represented, and maybe think about what we seem to have lost.

I’ll try not to belabor the obvious too much. Rather, I want to look at a few little details and some of the history of good old 41, the last member of the Greatest Generation to serve in the White House.*

That much is true. But “greatest generation,” while a term of respect which is well-earned, is something we can quibble about in the corner bar. In this corner, an elderly man who used to be a 20-year-old giving up his old life to go fight against the Germans in Africa or the Italians somewhere on the boot of Italy. In that corner, another man who, when he was 20, gave up his old life to fight some faceless enemy in a jungle in Southeast Asia in a war that never seemed to end. Between them, we can put a soldier fighting in Afghanistan with no clear plan on how to win, or even what would define victory. Which, I admit, sounds a little like Vietnam, or maybe the battle along the Texas border against all those rock-throwing children and the invisible caravan.

But I digress. And, I shouldn’t. There is much to reflect on and much to admire in the life of George Herbert Walker Bush. Decency stands high on the list, but it doesn’t stand alone.

                                                  Some Things To Remember

He was as much a war hero as John F. Kennedy. His plane was shot out of the sky while Kennedy’s boat was blown out of the water. He went to Yale, entered the oil business by founding his own company, and became a millionaire by the time he was 40. His father didn’t give it to him. He was Director of the CIA, and was picked to be vice-president by Ronald Reagan after Reagan defeated him in the Republican primary for president. Good grief, he even signed (and took credit for) the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA - you know, the worst deal ever that was foisted onto the country by those sneaky Democrats. It only lasted a quarter of a century before we learned how bad it was.

All those actions are honorable, and all were earned by Bush.

But he earned a lot more - things like respect from powerful politicians, world leaders, and just plain people who knew him or his family. Even from strangers, some of whom turned against him when he broke that promise - you know “read my lips, no new taxes” which only saved our nation from going bankrupt or maybe just cutting social security payments in half.

George Bush was a naval hero, and the armed forces were well represented at the funeral. It reminded me that once, every single person in that room would have known the branch of service of each man or woman in uniform and many would have been able to tell you what every dash of color - the ribbons, the braid, the insignias and rank - meant.  It was important to him, and it said so much more than just “thank you for your service.”

Extra credit if you can tell me what the crossed dueling pistols on the little brass circle that I gave my daughter from an old uniform means.

One more thing, of course. The people in the front row at his funeral - at least most of them - seemed genuinely glad to be sitting together. They exchanged small talk, they smiled at times. And, there were tears as well.

Did I just imagine that only the sitting president seemed to be uncomfortable. Was it because this wasn’t about him, or because he was wondering how many of his associates would have to be let out of jail to speak at his funeral? And, what would they say? And who would tweet about it?

Sometimes, living in the moment - no past to look on proudly, no new ideas of your own for the future (bringing back the past as a plan for the future rarely works) and no idea of what to pass on as your legacy - just doesn’t work.

So rest in peace George Herbert Walker Bush, and thank you for the example you left for our whole nation. At least, for those who will stop to see it.

* Small footnote. Jimmy Carter is the right age to be considered part of the Greatest Generation, but he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946, a year too late to serve in World War II.