It's the Wild, Wild, West All Over Again

When I was a kid many decades ago.  I had my heroes.  I used to play with plastic soldiers.  I would set them up to do battle with one another.  At that time, I thought everything our fighting men did was patriotic and right.

I was just about 14 when CBS started the tv series, The Wild, Wild, West. 

http://www.ovguide.com/video/the-wild-wild-west-tv-intro-1965-922ca39ce10036ba0e11845287bf4155

It ran for four seasons and just over 100 episodes.  Robert Conrad and Ross Martin starred as Secret Service Agents, James T. West and Artemus Gordon.  The series was set in the 1870 and these two agents were tasked with protecting then president U.S. Grant from any known or potential threat.  That was the job then and, as far as I know, it has not changed. 

West and Gordon were always seen with beautiful women during and at the end of the show.  I don't recall any of them actually being represented as prostitutes but maybe as risque as saloon dancers.  To a 14 year old, they were dashing and living the high life.  They were the "James Bonds" of the wild west.

I respected our military for what the did to serve our country and to help give us the wonderful peace of mind we now enjoy or did until 9/11.  I am not a political animal and have not done a great deal of reading about what our "agents" all over the world have done to "protect our way of life." 

We were riding high in the eyes of the world after World War II.  I think the slippery slope began shortly after that when we decided we needed to be the world's policeman.  We have done a lot of things to protect our "interests."

Our fighting men and women have given up a lot, as have their families.  They fight because that is their job.  The hope is that their sacrifices are meaningful and necessary.  Unfortunately, a few bad apples still spoil the barrel.  The pictures of our troops posing with naked Iraqi prisoners, the leaking of volumes of sensitive data, the photos of soldiers urinating on dead insurgents does not help.  It is amazing how a few incidents like this can negate so much that could have been positive.

Now, we have the latest embarrassment, our Secret Service agents "potentially" being exposed as having been with prostitutes while on detail in Columbia.  I am afraid that the investigation will reveal a culture of embracing this type of behavior.   I wonder what the world thinks of us right now.  I cannot imagine what our WWII vets think about how we have acted in the past 67 years.

At least with the characters in the Wild, Wild, West it was done as tongue in cheek and just in good fun.  Now we are starting to look like buffoons to the world.  I just cannot imagine what we are going to do next to top this.  I feel sorry for those who go to work every day to protect us and our government.  This can't make the job any easier.

Michael Kaynard is a local photographer who lives in West Ashley.  His photos can be seen at http://kaynardphotography.webs.com.  He can be reached at mkaynard@gmail.com.