Oh, yeah:
Via Dr. Sanity, who’s got some very sane things to say. Goest thou, and readeth ye Whole Thingy.
Yes, I love the old TV show M*A*S*H. Really, I do. Great characters (especially Col. Potter), great dialog, great jokes, great stories. As human a show as has ever been on TV.
But every time they get political, and mock the rationale behind the American presence in Korea (and, by implication, Viet Nam) I think of this picture. The part of Korea that we saved is, down there at the bottom, is even today a civilized industrial nation.
The part of Korea that we abandoned, in those last few episodes where everyone is so thrilled that the war is over and they get to go home, is that black atavistic hellhole up there at the top.
God damn it, Major Frank Burns was essentially right, and the fact that he was portrayed as a bumbling, jingoistic idiot was a betrayal of the people and the way of life his patients were there to fight for.
Tags: Earth Day, M*A*S*H, North Korea