Chickenhawk (politics) explained

Chickenhawk (chicken hawk or chicken-hawk) is a political term used in the United States to describe a person who is a war hawk yet actively avoids or avoided military service when of age.[1] In political usage, chickenhawk is a compound of chicken (meaning 'coward') and hawk from war hawk (meaning 'someone who advocates war'). Generally, the implication is that chickenhawks lack the moral character to participate in war themselves, preferring to ask others to support, fight, and perhaps die in an armed conflict.

History

The term war hawk developed early in American history as a term for one who advocates war. On one episode of the American television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In that aired in 1970, Dan Rowan made the following joke:[2]

Previously, the term war wimp was sometimes used, coined during the Vietnam War by Congressman Andrew Jacobs, a Marine veteran of the Korean War,[3] to describe "someone who promotes waging war or building up the tools of war but hid behind a college deferment or suddenly came up lame when the draft board whistled."[4]

The 1983 bestselling book Chickenhawk was a memoir by Robert Mason about his service in the Vietnam War, in which he was a helicopter pilot. Mason used the word as a compound oxymoron to describe both his fear of combat ("chicken") and his attraction to it ("hawk").[5]

Commentary

James Fallows identifies the rise of chickenhawks with the distancing of the American public from the military. He says that while most Americans had experience with the military by the end of World War II, having either served or known people who had, "now the American military is exotic territory to most of the American public." He cites examples of popular media such as Apocalypse Now and The Hurt Locker as many Americans' exposure to the military.[6]

Critics of the term chickenhawk argue that the term is used as a form of whataboutism in place of arguments against military action. Matthew Yglesias describes it as "a species of hypocrisy charge, a tempting rhetorical ploy that in practice proves almost nothing."[7]

John Bolton,[8] [9] [10] Donald Trump,[11] [12] Dick Cheney,[13] Newt Gingrich,[14] [15] and Ted Nugent[16] [17] [18] [19] are modern examples of those being called chickenhawks by critics.

Research

According to a 2014 study, leaders who had military backgrounds but no combat experience were most likely to initiate conflicts and wars.[20]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: chicken hawk . The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster, Incorporated . January 6, 2020.
  2. Web site: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. IMDb.
  3. News: March 16, 1986. What the Contras Need is Patrick Buchanan. 10. The Spokesman-Review. Newspapers.com. February 14, 2020.
  4. News: June 28, 1985. ALL THE QUALITIES OF A WAR WIMP. Chicago Tribune. June 12, 2021.
  5. Book: Mason, Robert. Chickenhawk. Penguin Publishing Group. 1983. 9781101175156.
  6. News: Fallows. James. 2015. The Tragedy of the American Military. The Atlantic. 2022-02-23. 1072-7825.
  7. Web site: Yglesias. Matthew. 2005-08-23. Manpower Meltdown. 2022-02-23. The American Prospect. en-us.
  8. News: Rodriguez . Sal . Wars Only Bring Death and Destruction . The Modesto Bee . April 6, 2018 . Modesto, CA . A9 . December 22, 2020 . And his selection of awful neocon chickenhawk John Bolton ... . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Miller . Justin . Diplomacy First with Iran . The Orlando Sentinel . May 28, 2019 . Orlando, FL . A11 . December 22, 2020 . ... or a classic Washington, D.C. 'chickenhawk' (that is, advocating for a war but never serving in one) like Bolton. . Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Lemon . Jason . 'Draft Dodging' Trump and Adviser Bolton Are 'Chickenhawks' Pushing U.S. to War With Iran, Democratic 2020 Candidate Warns . February 14, 2020 . Newsweek . June 2, 2019.
  11. News: Fallows . James . Chickenhawk in Chief . February 14, 2020 . The Atlantic . August 8, 2017.
  12. News: Burt . Charles . Donald Trump Is the Definition of a Chickenhawk . February 14, 2020 . The San Luis Obispo Tribune . August 16, 2016.
  13. News: Egan . Timothy . The War Hero and the Chickenhawk . December 22, 2022 . The New York Times . December 11, 2014.
  14. News: Weinger . Mackenzie . Paul calls Newt a 'chickenhawk' . November 22, 2023 . . January 4, 2012.
  15. News: Mali . Meghashyam . Paul blasts Gingrich as 'chicken hawk' . November 22, 2023 . . January 4, 2012.
  16. News: Jensen . Dennis . Ted Nugent: Call him Chickenhawk . November 22, 2023 . . May 28, 2006.
  17. News: Ted Nugent Dodged the Draft?. April 20, 2012. Snopes.com. August 15, 2017. en-US.
  18. Web site: The Worst Ted Nugent Interview Of All Time. March 25, 2014. Media Matters. September 7, 2018.
  19. Web site: "Ted Nugent Grows Up?" The Detroit Free Press Magazine, July 15, 1990. Scribd.com. September 7, 2018.
  20. Horowitz. Michael C.. Starn. Allan C.. 2014. How Prior Military Experience Influences the Future Militarized Behavior of Leaders. International Organization. 68. 3. 527–559. 10.1017/S0020818314000046 . 43282118 . 154302567 . 0020-8183. 1811/52883. free.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Chickenhawk (politics)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.