The elite and Noblesse oblige

[tehori]

A rather amusing thread on the elite.
If you are one of the elite do you not have a duty to lead ?.
The US army seems to be short of young platoon commaders,
being one of the elite are you not under an obligation to
to join up when needed ?.

Or, is duty an old fashioned ideal ?.

 

[odoreater]

 

[scarphe]

Some people here are not US citizens. Plus was it not the very elite of the USA during the vietnam war that found ways of avoiding going to war.

 

[redcaimen]

Horatius," quoth the Consul,
"As thou sayest, so let it be."
And straight against that great array
Forth went the dauntless Three.
For Romans in Rome's quarrel
Spared neither land nor gold,
Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life,
In the brave days of old.


Then none was for a party;
Then all were for the state;
Then the great man helped the poor,
And the poor man loved the great:
Then lands were fairly portioned;
Then spoils were fairly sold:
The Romans were like brothers
In the brave days of old.



Now Roman is to Roman
More hateful than a foe,
And the Tribunes beard the high,
And the Fathers grind the low.
As we wax hot in faction,
In battle we wax cold:
Wherefore men fight not as they fought
In the brave days of old.

 

[Lucky Strike]

Originally Posted by tehori

A rather amusing thread on the elite. If you are one of the elite do you not have a duty to lead ?. The US army seems to be short of young platoon commaders, being one of the elite are you not under an obligation to to join up when needed ?. Or, is duty an old fashioned ideal ?.
You seem to have a very romantic view of "the elite" and of "duty". I'm afraid it's getting very old-fashioned, yes. My sympathies. No, really.

Originally Posted by Niall Ferguson, Tisch professor of history, Harvard

Consuming on credit, reluctant to go to the front line, inclined to lose interest in protracted undertakings: if all this conjures up an image of America as a sedentary Colossus—to put it bluntly, a kind of strategic couch potato—then the image may be worth pondering.