I saw the news yesterday evening: Colin Powell is dead at 84, reportedly from complications related to COVID, but he was also suffering from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Powell was also "fully vaccinated" against the coronavirus, for all the good it did him. The jokes started immediately: "Good thing Powell was fully vaccinated, or it could have been a lot worse" is the most prominent joke I've been seeing making the rounds.
Powell was part of the neocon establishment and one of the main authors of GW Bush's ill-advised Iraq war. This makes it difficult to mourn his passing: he was part of the crew who believed (and still believe) that people the world over want American-style freedom, and that it's America's duty to spread that freedom by force if necessary. This neocon attitude put Powell on the side of the Never Trump Republicans, but Powell ended up edging away from the right altogether, especially as Barack Obama was coming into prominence.
I'll say I can respect the man for his achievements, but in the end, I see him as one of the people who held the country back from true greatness. RIP.
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