Of Mice and Men, by Scipio

There is a definitive movie dialogue between Steve McQueen’s and Dennis Hoffman’s characters in the movie, “Papillon”.  The movie is based on the true-life story of two characters.  Hoffman’s character, Louis Daga, was a forger and embezzler sent to prison for selling counterfeit French Government bonds. The world he knew was one of living in luxury in Paris. It was a world of cigar smoke filled back rooms, sweetheart deals, and bribes.  McQueen’s character, Henri Charriere, on the other hand, was a safe cracker who grew up on the streets and knew how to quickly size up a situation and had the fisticuffs to do something about it.

Henri was perfectly prepared for the brutal prison world he was entering into.  Louis naively believed his verbal sparring skills, political connections, and money stuffed inside his bowels would save him.  Both prisoners were on a boat in transit to the penal colony on Devils Island off the coast of French Guiana. Henri noticed early that Louis was a minnow swimming with sharks.  He offered Louis his protection services for a fee but Louis brushed him off with a condescending self-assurance.  That was until the first night on the ship when some thugs disemboweled a sleeping prisoner to get their cash.

The next morning Louis was visibly shaken by the events of the night before as he sat on the open deck of the ship.  Henri approached Louis again offering his services, but Louis blew him off again and asked Henri, “Do you know what the chicken said to the fox?” Henri shot back, “If it was a real fox, the chicken didn’t have a chance to say anything!”  He abruptly turned and walked away allowing his words to sink in.  Louis realized that the cleverness that got him through the world he came from would not help him in the new world order he found himself.  He reconsidered, and asked Henri for his services.

We live in a similar bifurcated world today.  The leaders of the Western World are (MICE).  That acronym was used by Michael Every in his January 12, 2022 article, “Rabobank: War…And Inflation…And Rate Hikes” written just before Russia invaded Ukraine.  Every said, “We are talking about the clash between leaders who think only of the world of Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) and those who think of men (in uniform).  If we are going to return to normal soon, it will be because of men, not (MICE) instead of a bunch of ‘cheese eating surrender monkeys’.”

Henri’s world of backroom deals and Chicago style hard ball politics worked well for him domestically but was useless against real men who knew how and when to make threats and were willing and able to back them up. That’s where we are today, a world of war between (MICE) and men as we see that conflict playing out in Ukraine.  Recently the (MICE) were eviscerated by China on March 19, 2021 in a meeting in Alaska.  China’s Chief of Foreign Affairs Director, Yang Jiechi, lectured Secretary of State Blinken and National Security Advisor Sullivan.  He said the US was in no position to judge morality with their “rules based” orders.  In other words, China’s not taking orders from you anymore.

Unlike Louis in the movie “Papillon”, the US failed to see their need for real men in their approach to international relationships.  Consequently, the US is headed for a confrontation where they are pretty much assured to lose against Russia with China’s help at Russia’s six.  It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.  Tragically, that means people following the (MICE) are going to die supporting the misguided “Support Ukraine” narrative.