This month of July returned to me the memory of 34 summers ago when I stood at attention as a new Plebe at West Point, The United States Military Academy. History swirled about me. It engulfed me. I spent the next 24 months of my life as a West Point Cadet, enjoying the feel of history under foot.
One of the historical icons of West Point is General Douglas MacArthur. While at the Academy, I enjoyed reading about him and reviewing his impact on our nation.
These many years later, though, I am still amazed at something that he said, amid the text of his famous 1962 "West Point Farewell Speech" that seems to never gain traction in the history books.
Douglas MacArthur felt that our "next" World War could be with aliens...and not the kind from Mexico.
No kidding. I have always found his comments to be a little weird. Here's what he said:
"We deal now, not with things of this world alone, but with the illimitable distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe. We are reaching out for a new and boundless frontier. We speak in strange terms of harnessing the cosmic energy, of making winds and tides work for us, of creating unheard of synthetic materials to supplement or even replace our old standard basics; to purify sea water for our drink; of mining ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to expand life into the hundred of years; of controlling the weather for a more equitable distribution of heat and cold, of rain and shine; of spaceships to the moon; of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all times."
For his whole speech, click here.
So I suppose it just goes to prove that even really smart guys who have gained a whole lot of international respect and admiration can, at times, still be odd-balls. Something about that just makes me laugh!
Den
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