"We are tied to the ocean. And, when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came." John F. Kennedy.
A real book.
Mostly now, I read a Kindle. Part of that reason is mercenary - all of my books are available in that medium and I should support it. Part of it is practical, that a hundred books on a Kindle is...the Kindle. Then, there is the "I'm in the mood for" moment when one can shop anywhere wifi is available.
But on the beach, the tactile appeal of real pages to turn draws me to bring a book on vacation to a beach resort in Mexico. And, so it begins.
We'd stopped at a new/used shop by our house the day before we left. Have you ever... I feel like Andy Rooney. Have you ever gone to a bookstore on just a general purchase mission and started blankly at the rows and rows of volumes? Even genre can be daunting. I glanced across the tomes until one caught my eye.
Mark Bowden. If you don't know him, he writes a good book. His most recognizable is Blackhawk Down, the story of an American military operation gone awry in Somalia in October 1993. It was turned into an excellent (if not entirely accurate) movie of the same name. I've seen him in person, doing a presentation at the University of Denver for his book about a battle during the Vietnam War. Smart, well spoken. Easy to read. That's it.
Well, about a third of the way through I began to question my judgment. It wasn't that the book is awful - in fact, it's well-written and informative. Bowden writes with an easy grace, descriptive without taking a microscope to the world he is trying to describe. He doesn't generally tell you what to think, or who the bad guys are. It's that, well, drones.
The book is a bit dated, copyright 2016. Bowden discusses the early evolution of both recon drones and those weaponized as particularized killers. Along the way he explores the legal underpinnings of their use, both on the battlefield and in places that are not technically (or otherwise) combat zones. And, you are thinking, this is a beach read?
Right? I closed the book and set it aside.
My mind goes first to A More Perfect Union, with its strong and marginally legal drone applications. Did I handle the dilemmas posed by Bowden artfully, or clumsily? Does Bowden's legal assessment comport with mine?
It moves on to Amy 3, a work in progress as yet untitled. Am I contemporary in my thinking, up to date in the technology and current on the law?
And what, exactly, is the definition of sovereign?
I look out over the horizon. The deeper water is a dark blue. Closer to shore the water is turquoise. Palm fronds rustle overhead in the gentle breeze. By and by the young man working the beach bar will bring me another Tequila Sunrise to go with the chips, quac and pico I scored at the snack buffet. My mind drifts - it is 80 degrees, sunny and I'm with the love of my life at one of the best beaches in Mexico.
This is the definition of sovereign.
