One aspect of Jim Webb that I do not expect to change once he is sworn in on January 4th is that he will say what is on his mind.Certainly this has bee true of him in the past, as he was reminded during the campaign of some of the things he had said in the past about people whose support he sought in the campaign, people like John Kerry and Bill Clinton.
Last night I heard a story that I think illustrates this characteristic of Jim Webb, as well as his determination when he sets his mind to something. By the way, both are things I admire about him. I will explain why, but first I have to set the scene for you. It was at a gathering of VFW at a VFW: Vets for Webb at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Falls Church Virginia.
There were perhaps 30 vets whose service ranged from beginning in 1944 to one person still on active duty in the Navy. The event was to honor Jim, to thank him and congratulate him. He was not able to be with us - he has a new daughter who was due on December 21 but was born on the 11th, and he is moving to have an easier commute to Capitol Hill. Many of the vets were like me of the Vietnam Era, and most of us were not VFW members. We had contributed for a gift for Jim. The Post fed us dinner, entertained us with a dance band from a local high school. This was also a fundraiser on behalf of the charitable work of the Post,which includes assisting working poor families at Christmas (this year a group of 50).
We talked before and during dinner, and then we had some brief ceremonies. One man had suggested a gift. He had obtained an exact replica of the map used by the Marines at Iwo Jima, and gotten it nicely frames. One of JimGÇÖs fathers-in-law had served at Iwo, and Jim had given a notable speech at an Iwo reunion in 2000. Those of us there signed the back of the map, and we hope and believe he will have it in his Senate office.
But the most important moment was from our senior veteran. He had first enlisted in 1944 at 15, and was in California about to be shipped out to Iwo when the Marine Corps discovered he was underaged and discharged him. And he told the story about Jim.
When Captain Webb served on the staff of Secretary of the Navy John Warner, one of his jobs was to give speeches supporting the Vietnam War effort. After he had been doing it for a while he began, as our speaker pointed out, to go of the plantation. He would depart from his assigned script and freely speak his mind about the conflict, criticizing some aspects of how the war was being wage. This got him into trouble. He was called into the SecretaryGÇÖs office and warned to stick to his assigned script. But Jim is outspoken as i think anyone who has been around him knows. And he went off the plantation again. Secretary Warner went ballistic, and told a top aide to court-martial Webb for having disobeyed a direct order.
Now that aide was a Marine. So he called our speaker, then at the EPA, and asked if he could hide a Marine there for a while? Our speaker did, and everytime Warner inquired about the court martial he was told that they were working on it. After a few weeks they got paperwork together and walked into WarnerGÇÖs office with a set of discharge paperwork - honorable - for Jim. Warner was at first quite upset, pointing out that he wanted to court-martial the captain. His aide and others explained that politically it might not look too good to be court-martialing a highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam conflict for speaking what he believed to be the truth about the conflict. Jim was honorably discharged.
Meanwhile he had worked out very well at EPA, and our speaker tried to encourage him to continue to work there. Jim said he had decided to go to law school that fall. This was August. He had not yet applied. Our contact asked if he had taken the LSATs. Jim had not. But when our speaker said that he would have to wait a year Jim made clear that he was determined to go that Fall. So here is a former Marine at an executive position in the EPA, our speaker. He calls up a good friend who is a senior partner at a major Washington firm, who is also a former Marine. The two of them conspire, and go visit the head of admissions at Georgetown Law, who - yep - is also a former Marine, and without having taken the LSATs Jim Webb was admitted to Georgetown Law.
Let me tell you what the story of refusing to be muzzled reminded me of. In Russian church history there is the tradition of the iurodivny, the Holy Fool. These were truthtellers, who because they were fools and thus considered touched by God were given a freedom to speak out not available to others. The most famous of these was a man after whom the iconic image of Red Square is nicknamed. St. Basil lived at the time of Ivan the Terrible, and he was the one person who could speak blunt truth to the Tsar without being immediately executed.
This is something that has its roots in Biblical prophecy. The NeviGÇÖim were less foretellers of the future than they were speakers of truth, often from a condition of GÇÿecstasyGÇÖ - there is the tale of Saul falling in with a company of prophets and rolling around and prophesying. But the most famous example was the Court prophet Nathan, who inquired of King David what he would do with a wealthy man with many cattle who took away from a poor man his only cow,and David expressed with righteous rage how he would punish the man. Nathan then confronted him with GÇ£you are that manGÇ¥ and David was stricken, realizing that his prophet had challenged him on how he had gotten Bathsheba. Of course the biblical tradition is that this is the inspiration for the Psalm 51.
I think the two aspects of Jim Webb described in the anecdote are important to remember as he is about to embark upon his senatorial career. He has never been afraid to speak out, to speak the truth as he sees it. I will not be surprised to find that what he says can be described with the title of the Al Gore movie on the environment, because Jim WILL speak the truth and it will not always be either convenient or comfortable for those who hear it. There have already been some stories about Senate staffers that worry about how different this will make Jim, that he wonGÇÖt play by the traditional rules, which I think is good. We already saw this to some degree in the incident at the White House with the President.
And as his entire life should demonstrate, Jim does not get deterred by serious challenges. The entry into law school is but one piece of a consistent pattern. When he was considering getting into the race, he had lunch with Steve Jarding, who had run Mark WarnerGÇÖs campaign for governor as the crowning jewel in a career that included work for Bob Kerrey and Tom Daschle. Jim pushed Steve to tell him what the odds were of winning the seat. Steve was reluctant to be specific, telling him that it would be difficult. Jim was insistent on hearing the truth, as insistent as he has been in telling it. Finally Steve told him probably no better than 15%. Jim responded that he liked those odds. The man does not shy away from a serious challenge.
I sensed part of this from reading JimGÇÖs writings, from seeing him on TV several times over his literary career. I realized it when i first met him at a local Democracy for America event at AttilaGÇÖs near Courthouse in Arlington back last winter. Since deciding to run in February Jim has consistently demonstrated both his honesty and his courage. I expect nothing less than a continuing demonstration of this high character in the next years as he embarks on this latest period of service to the people of the nation.
Semper Fi!
I asked our speaker if he minded me going on the record with the anecdote and his response was a simple "well it's a true story, it happened." I thought people might welcome this insight into Jim. So that's the reason for this being my diary today.
This morning I will go to another event to celebrate Jim's victory, one at which he is expected to make at least a brief appearance to greet the more than 400 volunteers who have RSVPd for a brunch.
And we look forward to the beginning of next month for more celebrations and the inauguration of the next phase of Jim's service to the people of the nation.
I hope you enjoyed the diary.
The rest was very touching, though.
To quote again from one of Jim's best friends - and an essential, integral member of those modern-day Three Musketeers; "Jim Webb is going to enlighten Washington," said Michael 'Mac' McGarvey, a radio operator in Mr. Webb's military unit during the Vietnam War. "If he is
elected, they are going to see honesty like they have
not seen honesty in a long time. If he doesn't believe it,
it won't happen."
Would someone here please tell me (and everyone else who may be so interested) how to go about purchasing some of those "My Senator is Fearless" bumper stickers? I predict that they will soon become commonplace in Virginia.
And they will be a most fitting salute and tribute to Jim Webb, a leader whom I predict will soon become uncommonly effective in the U. S. Senate.
Thanks again!
Steve
While I am as receptive to a good anecdote as the next person, I am having a few problems with the fool/prophet references in your diary. While many cultures have traditions of the "touched" being allowed to speak freely when others can not, I can not see Webb in this context. I will assume that these thoughts simply occured to a wide-ranging, obviously well-educated mind.
We are of an age, you and I, and I personally have had problems all my life with being unable to follow blindly, accept the status quo, and with authority figures who have nothing inside to warrant their leadership and/or dominion over us. This has made the last six years totally unacceptable to me.
Jim Webb's intelligence, logical extrapolating mind, far-thinking views and strong sense of right and wrong will take him far. He is no Don Quixote. We are in total agreement that his honesty, courage and willingness to question and speak up will accomplish much for himself and for those he now represents.
In my opinion this article about John Ripley raises questions as well.
You know that USMC loyalty is not about accumulating privilege and circumventing the rules. But you have empirical evidence to support that view, while most people do not. So rather than rely on hope or faith, it must be clearly demonstrated that the benefits to society at large far outweigh the occasional secondary incidental privilege that such membership may confer.
Closely related, sometimes people use Jim Webb's Navy Cross citation in a way that is really a non sequitur, and really that's disrespectful. His history of personal courage and sacrifice during combat is insufficient as supportive argument of the leadership abilities required now. Same goes for for any war hero and any member of any group. The SBVT relied heavily on this kind of argument in order to break rules, lie, accumulate undeserved power and, in my opinion, to work towards a less democratic United States.
So I want to emphasize that the authentic semper fi concept has to do with loyalty to a set of values and principles. Loyalty to individuals, including loyalty to Jim Webb, may be viewed as tactical implementation in service to that end.
Here's the process -
1. U.S. democracy and its Constitution have value.
2. They are threatened.
3. What's the best way to neutralize that threat.
One consequence of the SBVT's (et al: e.g., Cunningham) actions is a medium term devaluation of military service and sacrifice. Recent history raises grave concerns about any perceived insider group, especially those with a military facet.
I apologize for my fuzziness - but I do think that skepticism is very desirable right now. Or something like that.
Anyway, that's not the reason I'm writing :) You've opened a can of worms with your your:
"In Russian church history there is the tradition of the iurodivny, the Holy Fool."
"iurodlivny" (you missed the l) doesn't translate as "Holy Fool"; it means a "monster" or a "freak"; someone "born not in the normal pattern, deformed". Usually, that meant physical deformation (dwarves, hunchbacks). But, as anyone who's ever been incarcerated in a hospital knows, physical infirmity gets re-interpreted as mental disability all too often ("and how are we feeling this bright and shiny morning?" aks the nurse as if your mental capabilities were those of a 2yr old, when all that's wrong with you is an appendectomy scar). In other words, the "fools" were not fools at all, though not all of them were geniuses.
And you may have read about them in connection with church history, but "fools" are a feature of secular courts -- most often royal, but dukes and other nobles had them too, when it was the fashion -- of 15th and 16th century, not just in Russia, but all over Europe. The physical deformity was supposed to be amusing (probably on the "there, but for the grace of God..." principle); the *assumed* mental infirmity gave them a pass -- "he doesn't know what he's saying, the poor idiot" -- from retribution.
"Fools" were quite priviledged at courts, mostly because they had direct access to the king (or the duke, or whoever was the head of the particular one)but also because nobody paid them much attention, so they were in a position to gather blackmailing "material" easily (and carry it to the king directly). In some countries parents actually broke limbs of their small children (especially ugly ones), in hopes of getting them into service as "fools". And, in Italy, where they had "fools" of both sexes, "fools" were encouraged to breed and thus perpetuate the family line of "fools".
So, comparing Jim Webb to a 16th c. court "fool" seems a bit peculiar to me. In general, "fools" were considered to be as amusing as monkeys, just easier to get a hold of. Their "babbling" was discounted as just that: senseless babbling. Surely, that's not how you see Webb's position vis-a-vis US politics?
Tony Snow, now... Yes, he is a "court fool". Condi Rice, maybe. But Webb???
PS. I don't know where you got he idea that St Basil was Ivan the Terrible's "fool". St Basil was born in 329; Ivan the Terrible in 1530. For Basil to have been the fool at Ivan's court, he'd have had to have been *much* older than Matuzalem... :)
I'm sitting here with coder's block and am very jealous.
but let's just stick with the basics on St Basil the Holy Fool - http://en.wikipedia....
As for the Cathedral, it is formally named for the Intercession of the Theotokos, but commonly referred to as St Basil's' because among other reasons the holy fool is buried therein:
http://www.moscow-ta...
by the way, I have no idea where you are finding an "l" in the slavonic -- various sources I have checked, after reading your comment, spell it Yurodivy - I may have typographically (some things not in an English spellchecker) put in an extra letter. My reading of the cyrillic is юродивый (which I hope comes through in this comment).
I might note that the date you give for St. Basil is for Basi; the Great, one of the Cappadocian Fathers. I am afraid that is a rather egregious mistake in history.
The idea of a Court fool is of course independent of the religious role, but it is rather clear in Russian history that the fools were often considered touched by God, which is why they were often canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
I would hardly presume that Jim Webb was running around without clothes. I chose to use an image to describe the speaking truth to power, which is often considered foolishness of some sort.
Methinks you are too involved with somewhat inacccurately attempting to pick apart my references rather than focusing on the substance of the diary.
As for the idea that Webb relied upon the Old Boy network, that is erroneous. He did not realize that he would not be able to just walk into law school. Others intervened on his behalf. Many of us in our lives have benefit from interventions others have made without our knowledge.
I would guess the story as told is incomplete. I would guess that after contacting the ex-Marine at Goergetown, the older gentlement sent Webb over there for an interview, and he impressed the hell of the admissions officers. In other words, it is not that they got him in, but they got him in the door and then he was able to demonstrate that he belonged.
Rules get waived all the time. I do admissions work for my alma mater, Haverford. I know of a case where they reached out and recruited a student to apply - she was African-American, would be first in her family to even graduate from high school. By the time they contactedher it was too late for her to take all of the required admissions exams by the deadline to submit applications materials. They processed her application contingent upon her completing the required exams in time for the final admissions decision. Since Haverford has no cut off on exams, this was kind of going through the motions after the fact. She benefited from no old-boy network, because the College contacted her not knowing she was my student. She had never even considered the college before then.
I respect much of what you post. I think you are way off on this comment.
I too am familiar with the concept of the Holy Fool in the Russian Orthodox Church. There are similarities in other faith traditions including Zen, the shamans amongst indigenous peoples, and even some of the saints in the Catholic Church.
Indeed, even some of the actions of St. Francis could be considered part of that tradition. When he first began his religious vocation, he stole some of his father's finest cloth (his father was a merchant)to raise money to pay for the renovation of an old church. When his father took him before the Bishop of Assissi, demanding that Francis be banished as punishment for stealing from the father, Francis stripped off his clothes, stood stark naked before all the town's citizens and told his father that he (the father) could have all Francis' clothing to pay for what he took but that from then on Francis would have only one Father in heaven and would not recognize his earthly father.
Bishop Guido, recognizing Francis'sincerity and holiness, put his own cloak around the naked Francis.
Of course, Francis was also famous for preaching to the birds and other animals and singing his beautiful canticle to brother sun and sister moon.
Holy Fools and navi'im (Hebrew for prophets) typically speak truth to power while under the ecstatic influence of Holy Spirit. They do what nobody else would dare to do.
I'm not sure I'd put Jim Webb quite in that category. But I loved the anecdotes about him. And while I don't think he'll be doing it from a trance-like ecstasy, I suspect that Webb will tell the truth as he sees it and be a thorn in the side of this administration for the next few years.
I think that's why we worked so hard to elect Jim Webb. His honesty.
And again, thanks teacherken for this really thoughtful diary.
We can all relate to Webb in many different ways. Me particularly because we both have bomber pilot fathers and at least one side of "mountain people". His serious and thoughtful questioning of the status quo is why we voted for him and that is why we will follow his new career with the strictest attention. I have no doubt he will deliver.