Item No. 29: race and war 06-17-04 NewRuskinCollege.com
Army Navy Club NewRuskinCollege.com
Item No. 29: race and war
06-17-04
One of the important features of the Vi-et-nam War which has received little comment is the role of race.
It also serves as an example of the role of “objective thinking” (see “Wrong”).
Because the Americans had decided that “race does not matter”, and this was no where more so than in the American military, which is also typified by “objective thinking” the importance of race in the minds of the people of Vi-et-nam was overlooked. This is typical: if it should not matter then “objectively” it does not matter.
MacNamara was a pioneer in “objective” management. However, he was himself as well as his system of management a perfect example of the limitations of this philosophy.
Though the stated strategy of the U. S. was “attrition”, (if this can be called a strategy), when a young Army Major presented MacNamara with a paper in which the numbers, the population and birthrate etc. were examined and it was proven, in numbers, that the “strategy” could not possibly work, and even though MacNamara had made his reputation as an “objective” manager, had demanded that all management decisions be based on the quantization of the “facts”, here, when shown to a mathematical certainty that the stated strategy could not work ignored the paper. Why? Possibly because the Major was not from M. I. T. or Harvard?
Also with race. Because MacNamara thought “objectively” race does not matter then it could be ignored. The fact is race did matter, like it or not. The Left which should have known told us only that we were racists, never mentioning that racism was an important motivating factor for the other side.
And the Right? Oh, “objectively” race does not matter.
NewRuskinCollege.com
Item No. 29: race and war
06-17-04
One of the important features of the Vi-et-nam War which has received little comment is the role of race.
It also serves as an example of the role of “objective thinking” (see “Wrong”).
Because the Americans had decided that “race does not matter”, and this was no where more so than in the American military, which is also typified by “objective thinking” the importance of race in the minds of the people of Vi-et-nam was overlooked. This is typical: if it should not matter then “objectively” it does not matter.
MacNamara was a pioneer in “objective” management. However, he was himself as well as his system of management a perfect example of the limitations of this philosophy.
Though the stated strategy of the U. S. was “attrition”, (if this can be called a strategy), when a young Army Major presented MacNamara with a paper in which the numbers, the population and birthrate etc. were examined and it was proven, in numbers, that the “strategy” could not possibly work, and even though MacNamara had made his reputation as an “objective” manager, had demanded that all management decisions be based on the quantization of the “facts”, here, when shown to a mathematical certainty that the stated strategy could not work ignored the paper. Why? Possibly because the Major was not from M. I. T. or Harvard?
Also with race. Because MacNamara thought “objectively” race does not matter then it could be ignored. The fact is race did matter, like it or not. The Left which should have known told us only that we were racists, never mentioning that racism was an important motivating factor for the other side.
And the Right? Oh, “objectively” race does not matter.
NewRuskinCollege.com
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