Bravery and The Same Old Story

I was speaking to my cousin today and she told me that she thought there were some details of her father in law's war record on the Internet but she wasn't sure how to access the details. So I spent an enjoyable hour or so reading about the bravery of Squadron Leader William Cowan Ollason and his many decorations.

Squadron Leader Ollason, who I believe later became a Group Captain, was involved in 15 bombing raids over Germany and Italy. His bravery was rewarded with numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). On one occasion he managed to bring an aircraft home despite being bombed and losing colleagues.

Nice to read about a genuine wartime hero. It does underline the futility of war and loss of life, however. Whilst the British were bombing Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden etc the Germans were bombing Coventry, Norwich and London etc. Thousands and thousands of innocent people butchered in the name of obsession and power. The sheer futility of it all.

And talking of futile things it's getting round to American election time again. There seems to be some feeling that Barack Obama won't be elected for a second term. What on earth does that say about the man - even George W Bush got eight years in the White House?

I just wonder when disillusionment will finally set in with politics. Obama was heralded as the great American hope, the man who was going to make the USA great again. The fact he may fail appallingly makes you ask the question just when will a charismatic politician who also has great policies come along? How many times have we been promised a new golden age only to find that the new great hope is no better than what has gone before? The same happened in the UK with Tony Blair but ultimately it's always a false dawn.

Now we are faced with months of inanely grinning American candidates shaking hands, smiling as only American political candidates can whilst they promise the earth and subsequently deliver virtually nothing - that's the name of the game, all spin with little substance. What would I give for a political leader to concentrate on his or her own policies rather than just rip the opposition to pieces. The only thing that does is illustrate the lack of policies and the lack of original thought.