Charles Bronson (November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003)

Where is Chas. Bronson when we need him?   The death of this actor years ago was a big story at the time.  In his peak years he created a screen persona which endeared him to many Americans.  This was the ordinary guy who is unfairly treated by the “higher ups” or the “bad guys” or the “evil terrorists” and virtually single handedly, he reverses the tide, comes out victorious, and saves the rest of us as well. 

We can think of other actors, like Clint Eastwood or Sylvester Stallone, who portray a similar screen persona.  But Bronson was unique in his ability to do this with an apparent absence of personal narcissism.  He was everyman, just the average guy, who confronts the evil of the world and triumphs, but without any fanfare or  attitude. (Compare the ridiculous persona of the James Bond character.)   The mythical American Hero is often seen as the lone avenger of the injustices of the world, but probably never so succinctly as Bronson managed it.  Whether it was violent criminals in the street or sleeper agents suddenly brought to life to cause WWIII,  he took care of the problem.

His characters helped overcome the fantasy fears of the average man, but also set a dangerous precedent.  Here finally was someone who “really could” terminate all the bad guys.  Here is the mental model for those in the current and previous administrations who visualized our most specialized forces as capable of charging into the heart of danger, and decisively vanquishing the foe.

The incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan, like all wars, give the lie to hero fantasies and the "lone ranger complex".  No matter how brave,  or well trained or equipped a cadre of warriors, the enemy when overwhelmed does not stand and fight but withdraws to find circumstances more favorable to him for the confrontation.  And no modern country has the human resources (except China ?) to commit a significant portion of its young adult population into the task of conquering and subduing another country.  It is not clear that any country ever survived this delusion.  Certainly Greece did not tolerate the expeditions of Alexander without deteriorating, nor Rome, Caesar, nor France, Napoleon.  The lesson of history is that any nation that tries to dominate others through the expression of dominant military force is endangering its fundamental resources.  

Bronson could single-handedly take on all comers,  because he was in a movie.  Americans in the battlefields of Asia are dealing with reality.   When the world's nations come together to vanquish a common enemy,  it so far has succeeded.   When a single nation proposes to overpower another,  most often it squanders its resources,  while the opponent awaits its moment of diminishing returns.

How many times must US leaders learn this basic lesson?