OK, here goes with a bit more explanation. Both are cult figures who, in the popular imagination of their proponents, are thought almost Christlike. So they're icons of the best in the warrior ethos. They have that in common. But Lee fought to preserve a system of stratified power, Che fought to challenge and overthrow such a system. Military historians, in effect, spend most of their time looking over the shoulders of the Lee's of this world. They need to look with equal facility over the shoulders of the Che's. I plan to write a short, direct essay on what I call "postcolonial military history" in a day or two. Let me know whether or not this brief downpayment on that post seems clear to you. Vinceremos! ;-)
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OK, here goes with a bit more explanation. Both are cult figures who, in the popular imagination of their proponents, are thought almost Christlike. So they're icons of the best in the warrior ethos. They have that in common. But Lee fought to preserve a system of stratified power, Che fought to challenge and overthrow such a system. Military historians, in effect, spend most of their time looking over the shoulders of the Lee's of this world. They need to look with equal facility over the shoulders of the Che's. I plan to write a short, direct essay on what I call "postcolonial military history" in a day or two. Let me know whether or not this brief downpayment on that post seems clear to you. Vinceremos! ;-)
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