{"id":6747,"date":"2017-12-15T03:57:43","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T03:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6747"},"modified":"2017-12-29T00:40:49","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T00:40:49","slug":"on-pyrrhic-victories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6747","title":{"rendered":"On “Pyrrhic victories…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

“The Battle of Bunker Hill<\/a><\/i>,”\u00a0one<\/strong> example of a\u00a0Pyrrhic victory<\/a>\u00a0from our own American history…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

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\"DougLast Monday – just before Tuesday’s\u00a0special election in Alabama<\/a>\u00a0– the term “Pyrrhic victory<\/a>” came to my mind – for some reason…<\/p>\n

On the other hand, late that Tuesday evening – December 12 – you could have\u00a0knocked\u00a0me\u00a0over\u00a0with a feather<\/a>.\u00a0 (As in, to “shock, confuse, or astonish someone to a point of complete bewilderment.”\u00a0 In the alternative, the idiom expresses “great<\/span>\u00a0bewilderment<\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0surprise.”)<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/em>As to why, s<\/span>ee\u00a0<\/span>Doug Jones beats Roy Moore in Alabama Senate race<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Which is another way of saying that I expected – or was afraid – that Roy Moore would win, possibly in a landslide.\u00a0 (Because Alabamians don’t like “outsiders” telling them what to do, as my brother Bill predicted a week or so before the election.)\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0 And that<\/em><\/strong> is another way of saying that if Moore got elected, it could have turned out to be a\u00a0Pyrrhic victory<\/a>\u00a0for Republicans.<\/p>\n

\"pyrrhicThe name comes from King\u00a0Pyrrhus<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Epirus<\/a>, an\u00a0ancient Greek<\/a>\u00a0state in the western\u00a0Balkans<\/a>.\u00a0 (Just east of the Italian peninsula.)\u00a0<\/em> His army beat the\u00a0Romans<\/a>\u00a0in two separate battles\u00a0– one of which is illustrated at left – in 280 and 279 B.C.\u00a0 But the wins came at a high cost.\u00a0 While the Romans\u00a0had\u00a0more casualties, they also had a far greater pool of soldier-replacements.<\/p>\n

Which gave rise to the name of a victory that\u00a0“inflicts such a devastating toll” that it is tantamount to a defeat.\u00a0 (The “heavy toll negates a true sense of achievement or profit.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

You can check out four other such “victories” at\u00a05 Famous Pyrrhic Victories – History Lists<\/a>.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, two such battles came in America, both within the last 250 years.\u00a0 (Compared to the original, nearly 2,300 years ago.)\u00a0<\/em> So maybe it’s time for a third?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the American Civil War there was the\u00a0Battle of Chancellorsville<\/a>, in 1863.\u00a0 While often called Robert E. Lee<\/a>‘s masterpiece<\/b><\/a><\/em>, “it came with a massive price tag.”\u00a0 That is, while the Union army had 4,000 more casualties – 17,000 to 14,000 – it too had\u00a0a “far greater pool of replacement soldiers.”\u00a0 (Like the Romans.)\u00a0<\/em> More important, Lee lost his most trusted general,\u00a0Stonewall Jackson<\/a>.\u00a0 (“Jackson was hit by\u00a0friendly fire<\/a>,” and Lee reportedly said “I have lost my right arm.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

On the other side of the fence – so to speak – there was the\u00a0Battle of Bunker Hill<\/a>\u00a0in 1775:<\/p>\n

The battle was a tactical, though somewhat\u00a0Pyrrhic victory<\/a>\u00a0for the British, as it proved to be a sobering experience for them, involving many more casualties than the Americans had incurred, including a large number of officers.\u00a0 The battle had demonstrated that inexperienced [American] militia were able to stand up to\u00a0regular army<\/a>\u00a0troops in battle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that brings us back to last Tuesday’s special election.\u00a0 Just as the\u00a0Battle of Bunker Hill<\/a>\u00a0showed that inexperienced American militia could stand up to the vaunted British army regulars in battle, so last Tuesday’s election proved that a &^%#$ Democrat could get elected to the Senate in\u00a0\u00a0&^%#$ Alabama!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Which brings up how that “pigs are flying” victory came about.\u00a0 Or more specifically, why\u00a0Roy\u00a0Moore\u00a0lost\u00a0the election\u00a0in Alabama<\/a>.\u00a0 The linked web article said – for one thing – that the “Alabama election was a warning:\u00a0 appease the Trumpian, populist, nationalist movement at your peril.”\u00a0 Then there was the article,\u00a0Analysis:\u00a0Why\u00a0Trump will pay\u00a0the\u00a0political price for\u00a0Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama<\/a>.\u00a0 As one professor said,\u00a0“This is the first real evidence\u00a0that a political backlash might be brewing to Trump-ian Republican politics.”<\/p>\n

So maybe last Tuesday’s special election in Alabama wasn’t about Roy Moore at all.\u00a0 Maybe it was more about Donald Trump and his “particular brand of magic” going stale.<\/p>\n

So maybe – just maybe – we could\u00a0post-date<\/a>\u00a0this\u00a0spiel<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Pyrrhic victories<\/a><\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0November 8, 2016<\/a>?<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Battle of Bunker Hill – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 The full caption:\u00a0 “‘The Battle of Bunker Hill,’ by\u00a0Howard Pyle<\/a>, 1897.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The Doug Jones image is courtesy of\u00a0Doug Jones (attorney) – Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The “two separate battles” image is courtesy of\u00a05 Famous Pyrrhic Victories \u2013 History Lists<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

For more on such victories, see\u00a0Urban Dictionary:\u00a0 Pyrrhic victory<\/a>, which included this suggestion:<\/em><\/p>\n

The best example of a pyrrhic victory is in the anglo-zulu war, in which Ntshingwayo Khoza\u00a0set<\/a>\u00a022<\/a>,000 zulu warriors, about 55% of the\u00a0male<\/a>\u00a0population of zululands to attack 1,400\u00a0British<\/a>\u00a0soldiers in a surprise attack at the Battle of Isandlwana.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See also\u00a0Battle of Isandlwana – Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The “pigs are flying” image is\u00a0courtesy of\u00a0APG 146 \u2013 When Pigs Fly?<\/a>airlinepilotguy.com<\/a>. \u00a0See also\u00a0Flying pig \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, which defined the phrase in pertinent part as \u201can\u00a0adynaton<\/a>\u2014a\u00a0figure of speech<\/a>\u00a0so\u00a0hyperbolic<\/a>\u00a0that it describes an impossibility.\u201d\u00a0 Note also that I used the image in\u00a0\u201cI dreamed I saw Don Trump last night<\/a>,” posted on November 30, 2016.\u00a0 (That post was an exercise in irony<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image<\/em> is courtesy of\u00a0businessinsider.com\/donald-trump-has-been-fired<\/a>.\u00a0 See also,\u00a0On Reagan, Kennedy \u2013 and \u201cDick the Butcher<\/a>,\u201d which included a smaller version of the photo.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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“The Battle of Bunker Hill,”\u00a0one example of a\u00a0Pyrrhic victory\u00a0from our own American history… * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * Last Monday – just before Tuesday’s\u00a0special election in Alabama\u00a0– the term “Pyrrhic victory” came to my mind – for some reason… On the other hand, late that Tuesday evening – December 12 – you could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6747"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6747"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6832,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6747\/revisions\/6832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}