Charlie Wilson’s War

Anyone who has a relationship with the state of Texas and her people, knows that a) Texas is a special state and b) she has within her borders, special people. I mean this with all seriousness. I remember Dr. Harvey Mansfield’s 2007 Lecture on the Humanities in which he uses Lyle Lovett’s “You’re Not From Texas” to help show honor’s relationship with thumos.

Lyle Lovett has a song “You’re not from Texas” that ends like this: “That’s right you’re not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway.” Lyle teaches us the central problem of multiculturalism: if it’s so important to come from Texas, how can Texas want you if you’re not? Those of us not from Texas have to live with the shame of it, rather doubtful that Texas wants us anyway. For with honor goes the shame of dishonor.

Everything’s Bigger in Texas is how the saying goes. A telling statement about the soul of the people who inhabit the state. There is a spirit that there be told, of people who can have so much energy and perhaps more thumos than citizens of any other state, while at the same time the same people are more than willing to pull their cars (or old trucks) over and onto the shoulder so you can pass on a narrow two-lane country road. People don’t do that often in many other states. How can someone with a “If you can read this, roll me over” bumper sticker and gun rack be so overt about their spirited manliness, while at the same time demonstrating humility by pulling over and acknowledging that you are going faster than they? The two don’t mix, or so we should think.

Only a state like Texas, could produce a man like former Representative Charles Wilson. Charlie Wilson was a larger than life figure, The Liberal from Lufkin, who entered politics to get back at the man who killed his dog. Charlie Wilson’s story was brought to the younger folks of my generation in the form of (alas!) a movie staring Tom Hanks (with my personal favorite, Amy Adams, in a supporting role) which told how the extravagant Mr. Wilson became engulfed in Afghanistan’s battle for freedom against the Soviet Union. At the end of the movie, Charlie Wilson is quoted as saying:

“Those things happened and they were glorious, and then we fucked up the end game.”

It was true then, and continues to be true for us in Afghanistan today.  Charlie passed away Wednesday, after battling heart problems for the better part of two decades.  Goodbye to the Liberal from Lufkin, I’ll be having a few glasses for him tonight.

-rj