Metaphorically speaking, a contest in which no one wins is a “tie”, “draw”, “dead heat”, “wash”, “standoff”, “Mexican standoff”. However, a contest in which everyone loses is a different matter.

Once upon a time, a contest in which everyone loses was known as a “train wreck”. Sadly, few alive today remember that metaphor unless they're really old or are model railroad hobbyists. For most, a train wreck is just another day of operations at Amtrac.

Train wrecks were spectacular. Carney men even staged train wrecks as public entertainment. Two engineers set their beasts in motion and jumped clear. The crowd held its breath in anticipation as the two locomotives gathered way and then unleashed a roar of appreciation at witnessing their mutual destruction. There seems to have been something cathartic at witnessing a staged “accident”, an opportunity to see an event recreated in which many had died. It was a precursor to “rubber necking” motorists passing an accident scene on the highway.

No matter who enters the White House, neither will win. They won't have the support of their political party or Congress. They won't have the support of a majority of the constituency. They will only have an empty title. And what will We the People win? We are fighting among ourselves as though either of these candidates actually represent US. Neither is Right nor Left, Conservative nor Liberal, Progressive nor Constitutionalist. 

No rational person expects either to be a good leader or even a satisfactory leader. At a time when the tempest is upon the nation, we will be a ship without a rudder. If we are to survive, We the People will have to step up and save ourselves. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, is it?  

Imagine offering a child a dish of ice cream but allowing them to only take it out of the freezer once a day and each just one spoonful at a time. That's what it was like for my wife and I trying to limit ourselves to just one episode of Stranger Things per day. We failed

Stranger Things is an eight-part SciFi thriller produced by Netflix and it's well worth the price of subscribing if only to watch his one program. Starring Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine, it is the tale of a weapons development program that accidentally opens a portal to another dimension, a dimension occupied by an unspeakably vicious predator. And that's all I'm going to tell you about the plot. Just imagine ET written by Stephen King. ​

I once read that science fiction tends to reflect the temper of the people in the time it is written. During the Cold War, space aliens were threatening. In the peace that followed they were warm and cuddly. Stranger Things is definitely a product of our time when Stone Age terrorists are lurking in the shadows and authority figures are distrusted and cops are being ambushed in the streets. If you are living in 2016, you'll feel right at home.

​If you watch, I'm sure you'll be joining us, waiting for that next dish of ice cream.

Have you ever discovered that your family had a skeleton in the closet? A black sheep? How would you feel to learn that the "black sheep" may have had a golden fleece? This is the story that I had to tell.

I'm guilty. I voted for Perot. I've regretted that decision ever since. If I and others who voted for Perot hadn't we might not have ever suffered through the embarrassment of the Bill Clinton Administration and the threat of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Imagine that. Now that we are faced with two unqualified candidates for President, I am once again tempted to cast my ballot for the third party choice, Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party. Dare I?

Now imagine life were like that. Imagine the frustration of teenagers returning home and being punished because parents changed the curfew without telling them. Imagine the frustration of waiting for delivery of a product or service you ordered and paid for only to learn that the terms of the contract changed without notice. Imagine the frustration of being jailed because the law you obeyed no longer applies and it's been replaced by a new version.

Normally, that happens. Sadly George W. Bush didn't get one. Instead of throwing rice, the opposition threw hanging chads and went to court (and I don't mean courtship). The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and even their wisdom couldn't put the conflict to rest. Indeed, the wrath of the opposition fell on their heads as Candidate Gore and his followers accused the Justices of playing politics. Thus, even before his inauguration, Bush was named the “President-Select”, and the acrimony never ended, even after he was sworn in.

RallyPoint is an online forum for the military. Its  members are scattered all over America. More than a few it seems are scattered over other parts of the world. I've made friends with a few of them. Some are even contacts. But I had never met one in person before yesterday. I had posted a notice about the 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War at Fort Irwin, California, and Ken Ellis contacted me to find out if we could go together. We could and did.

We rallied at the Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, California, about midway between our homes. A car club of Shelby Cobras happened to be meeting there and provided a welcome diversion before setting off. Another Vietnam Veteran, John Gleason, a member of my VFW post, met there too and we took off for Fort Irwin about midway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Actually, this Army post, affectionately known as the nation's cul-de-sac, lies 30 miles off Highway 15 in the middle of the desert.

Ultimately, it may be argued that We the People are accountable for all of the decisions made by our representatives in government, state and federal. Yes, We pay the price, don't we? We pay the taxes. We shed the blood. But the responsibility for those bad decisions vests in our elected representatives.

How does responsibility differ from accountability? Simple. Those who make the decisions are responsible in that they were elected for that purpose: They are responsible for making decisions or executing them. They may even take the blame for making bad ones. However, they never really pay the price for those decisions. They never actually suffer the consequences of them. More often than not, they are reelected so they can return to their seats of power and continue making bad decisions. Whose fault is that?

That being said, We the People electing poor representation to government is not a very satisfactory answer to the question: What is the greatest or costliest mistake in modern U.S. History? Ultimately, it is too broad. It means that We are both responsible and accountable for all mistakes. To determine which is the greatest or most costly mistake, We must narrow our vision to one specific mistake.

It's true. The highest ranking general will snap to attention and salute the lowest ranking enlisted man wearing a Medal of Honor. Why do you suppose that is? Are they honoring the man, the medal, or the act of valor that it represents?

Hero-worship is as natural as breathing. Most of us join the military fresh from childhood reverence of sports heroes. Thus, we didn't invent the practice but we certainly elevated it. I more so than most. As Chief of Awards and Decorations for the 9th Infantry Division during a portion of my tour of duty in Vietnam, I investigated many acts of valor and sat with senior officers who evaluated my recommendations including four that rose to garner the Medal of Honor.

Everyone who has ever worshiped a hero ultimately has been disappointed because every hero falters. Go ahead. Study the record of history. Even mythology tells the same tale. In retrospect, it seems that the West Point statue of Benedict Arnold's boot, commemorating his contribution to the Continental Army's victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga before he “turned coat”, is the most rational memorial to heroism to be found. [Note: Arnold was wounded in the foot during the Battle of Quebec.]