Main Entry: meg·a·lo·ma·nia
Pronunciation: \ˌme-gə-lō-ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə\
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
Date: 1887
1 : a mania for great or grandiose performance
2 : a delusional mental disorder that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
Of course this word is much too progressive for Glenn, having first been used in 1887, but I don't know the Revolutionary War era word for what he is.
The Examiner reports on the latest symptoms.
Glenn Beck evidently believes the Purple Heart is some progressive invention which distorted a previous award called the "Badge of Merit."
Beck plans to give out his own Badge of Merits at a rally he is holding at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream Speech." Beck essentially will be playing the part of the military in handing out his own military distinctions.
What's your opinion? Is he best defined by the first definition of "megalomania" or the second?
Please leave a comment.
I once asked my grandfather, who served in the Navy from 1921-1953, why he did not have a Purple Heart even though he had several injuries. His reply was that when he went into service, the Purple Heart was for a serious, permanent injury such as losing an eye or a hand. They were not for just getting wounded. He thought that sometime around WW2 they started awarding them for any battlefield injury so that G.I.s could have more medals when they went home--good for moral he thought. "Anyone can get wounded, why get a medal for that?" he said. He had been sent to the hospital after a 12" gun charge went off without the breech locked down. It killed two sailors and left him with permanent hearing loss up until he died at age 90. He didn't think that qualified for a Purple Heart. Nor did injuries sustained in close quarters fighting in Nicaragua qualify in his opinion. He was already retirement age and was considered "old school" Navy when WW2 began.
ReplyDeleteFWM, Thanks for that great personal story.
ReplyDeleteI think during Viet Nam they's already loosened up on the whole thing and some guys got the medal for minor injuries.