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A FEW years ago in London, when Fergie had taken to emulating her sister-in-law and dropping in on emergency wards, hospices, and general scenes of human tragedy, I suggested that the British might like to start carrying an equivalent of the organ-donor card: “In the event that I am seriously injured in a car accident, terrorist bombing, etc., I do not wish to be visited by the Duchess of York.” It may be time for a U.S. variation, perhaps printed on the back of a GI dog tag: “In the event that I am taken prisoner and used as a human shield by a ruthless tyrant, I do not wish to be rescued by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.”

Let us stipulate that America’s three POWs would have preferred to be somewhere other than Serbia. Let us stipulate, too, that the Pentagon was correct when it revealed that their doctors had determined the men had been “beaten,” even though the victims themselves speak only of their excellent treatment. But anyone who remembers those downed RAF pilots forced by Saddam into going on Iraqi TV and denouncing Western imperialist aggression will be grateful that at least Slobo didn’t degrade his captives by using them as propaganda tools and making them say things they would obviously have preferred not to say, just for the benefit of the cameras. Instead, he left that to Jesse. As they crossed the border into Croatia, the POWs were cajoled by the Rev. Jackson into linking hands and joining him in shouting, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!” Never mind that previous generations of fighting men would have considered the entire scene . . . unsoldierly. Left to their own devices, the POWs might have broken into Celine’s big theme from Titanic, or the Hokey- Pokey, or selections from Brigadoon. But the unlikely cover version of Martin Luther King’s famous speech couldn’t have made it clearer: Jesse’s the star and the boys merely the supporting chorus—anonymous Blowfish to his Hootie.

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Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn is an international bestselling author, a Top 41 recording artist, and a leading Canadian human-rights activist.

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Martin Luther King Jr

A FEW years ago in London, when Fergie had taken to emulating her sister-in-law and dropping in on emergency wards, hospices, and general scenes of human tragedy, I suggested that the British might like to start carrying an equivalent of the organ-donor card: “In the event that I am seriously injured in a car accident, terrorist bombing, etc., I do not wish to be visited by the Duchess of York.” It may be time for a U.S. variation, perhaps printed on the back of a GI dog tag: “In the event that I am taken prisoner and used as a human shield by a ruthless tyrant, I do not wish to be rescued by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.”

Let us stipulate that America’s three POWs would have preferred to be somewhere other than Serbia. Let us stipulate, too, that the Pentagon was correct when it revealed that their doctors had determined the men had been “beaten,” even though the victims themselves speak only of their excellent treatment. But anyone who remembers those downed RAF pilots forced by Saddam into going on Iraqi TV and denouncing Western imperialist aggression will be grateful that at least Slobo didn’t degrade his captives by using them as propaganda tools and making them say things they would obviously have preferred not to say, just for the benefit of the cameras. Instead, he left that to Jesse. As they crossed the border into Croatia, the POWs were cajoled by the Rev. Jackson into linking hands and joining him in shouting, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!” Never mind that previous generations of fighting men would have considered the entire scene . . . unsoldierly. Left to their own devices, the POWs might have broken into Celine’s big theme from Titanic, or the Hokey- Pokey, or selections from Brigadoon. But the unlikely cover version of Martin Luther King’s famous speech couldn’t have made it clearer: Jesse’s the star and the boys merely the supporting chorus—anonymous Blowfish to his Hootie.