Changing Times

No greater proof of our changed moral climate can be found than in the following quotations from C.S. Forester's tale of the 18th exploits of Admiral Hornblower:


"A senior officer perforce had to trust his juniors, while still carrying the ultimate responsibility. If [Leuitenant] Harcourt should blunder, if he should be guilty of some indiscretion leading to a diplomatic protest, it would certainly be true that he would wish he had never been born; Hornblower would see to that. But Hornblower would be wishing he himself had never been born, too.]


"[To prevent a war, Hornblower had been forced to lie. ] He had ceased to be a gentleman. He was disgraced. Everything was at an end. He would have to resign his command; he would have to resign his commission. How would he ever face Barbara [his wife]. When little Richard grew up and could understand what had happened, how would he ever be able to meet his eyes."


Today, of course, a dozen enlisted men may be found guilty of abusing and torturing prisoners, and not one officer will be reprimanded. A chief financial office might cook the books and his billionaire superior found blameless. As for lying, t'is the surest way to promotion in the Bush Administration.