I was pondering the label of "chicken hawk"....someone (generally male) who advocates military adventurism, but never has or will personally serve in harm's way.
I say it's bogus.
Why?
Let's compare 2 different kinds of hawks to see if there's any significance:
John McCain v Hillary Clinton
Both favor riding into conflicts with guns blazing.
McCain has been there & done that.....so he's a hawk
Hillary has not.....so she's a chickenhawk.
Does he have greater wisdom or knowledge about the matter than she? He has certainly experienced war from a direct participant's perspective....having shot at the enemy, been shot at, been captured & tortured. Meanwhile, Hillary was balancing college & brewskies....& (to her credit, IMO) advocating against the war. On the surface, McCain would seem to have the more valuable experience. But he wasn't leading or strategizing....he was just a soldier enduring the horrors of war. Hillary undoubtedly knows what happened in that war, despite not experiencing it. McCain's service might give him caution about entering into wars, but he is a hawk nonetheless. If the net result of different service records leads them to the same agenda, why does it even matter if one is a chickenhawk?
I say it's bogus.
Why?
Let's compare 2 different kinds of hawks to see if there's any significance:
John McCain v Hillary Clinton
Both favor riding into conflicts with guns blazing.
McCain has been there & done that.....so he's a hawk
Hillary has not.....so she's a chickenhawk.
Does he have greater wisdom or knowledge about the matter than she? He has certainly experienced war from a direct participant's perspective....having shot at the enemy, been shot at, been captured & tortured. Meanwhile, Hillary was balancing college & brewskies....& (to her credit, IMO) advocating against the war. On the surface, McCain would seem to have the more valuable experience. But he wasn't leading or strategizing....he was just a soldier enduring the horrors of war. Hillary undoubtedly knows what happened in that war, despite not experiencing it. McCain's service might give him caution about entering into wars, but he is a hawk nonetheless. If the net result of different service records leads them to the same agenda, why does it even matter if one is a chickenhawk?
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