Blast Furnace Canada Blog: McNamara

Monday, July 6, 2009

McNamara

He started as one of the "Whiz Kids" that turned Ford around in the 1940s, worked his way up to the presidency of the company (the first non-Ford to do so) and then served as Defense Secretary under Kennedy and Johnson. Very controversial in his time for escalating the war, and later making a mess of the World Bank, Robert McNamara later would come to regret many of the choices he made -- something he discussed in detail in Errol Morris' Oscar-winning documentary, The Fog of War, which I saw at a Hamilton Art Gallery fundraiser a few years back.
　
McNamara died today at the age of 93. I don't know whether to classify him as a hero or a villian, or someone troubled by what he did. But I would highly recommend the movie to anyone who wants an idea of what made him tick.

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Favourite Quotations

On questioning the status quo: "The subject who is truly loyal to the Chief Magistrate will neither advise nor submit to arbitrary measures." -- Junius

The Heart of the Judeo-Christian Ethic: "What is it that the Lord requires of us, other than to do justice, love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?" -- Micah

Freedom of Speech: "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." -- Voltaire

Hypocrisy: "When you say you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice." -- Otto Von Bismark

Journalistic Integrity: "We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. Good night, and good luck." -- Edward R Murrow

Love: "Falling in love is awfully simple. Falling out of love is simply awful." -- allegedly said by Friedrich Nietzsche

Ideas: "You can imprison a mouse or a man, but you can never imprison an idea." --Tommy Douglas

Imagination: "An imagination is a powerful tool. It can tint memories of the past, shade perceptions of the present, or paint a future so vivid that it can entice...or terrify, all depending on how we conduct ourselves today." -- Jim Davis, creator of Garfield

Education does not (always) equal wisdom: "I'll tell you where I got my education. At Screw U." -- Dolly Parton

You think life is unfair? "This is not Burger King. You can't have it your way." -- Joni Eareckson Tada, mouth painter and evangelical leader

Doomsday Televangelists: "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." -- Charles M Schulz, creator of Peanuts

Victory Without War: "Real peace is an illusion. It has never existed and will never exist. Real peace is not an end to conflict, but a means of living with conflict." -- President Richard Nixon

Civil Rights: "We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is a time to act in the Congress, in your state and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives. It is not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, or deplore the fact that we face. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality." -- President John F Kennedy

On No WMD in Iraq: "A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven." -- Prime Minister Jean Chrétien

Truth: "Life was much more certain behind the Iron Curtain ... The truth was always easy to identify: Everything in Pravda was a lie." -- George Bowser and Ricky Blue, comedians

Response to "My Country Right or Wrong": "When right, keep it right; and when wrong, make it right." -- John F. Kerry, US Senator

Why I am a progressive: "Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." -- John Stuart Mill

Looking on the bright side of life: "I still believe in a place called Hope." -- President William J. Clinton

The bright side (Part Deux): "Yes we can!" -- Senator Barack H. Obama

On the funeral home industry: "Jesus didn't need his vault for long. I mean, He was up and out in only three days." -- Jessica Mitford, noted atheist, speaking to six funeral directors.

Why government and business are in bed together: "It is difficult for a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it." -- Upton Sinclair

Grace in adversity: "Every time I'm on ABC, I crash." -- Vinko Bogotaj, the "Agony of Defeat" ski jumper (after he was involved in a car crash on the way to an interview to celebrate the anniversary of the infamous 1971 tumble)