Originally posted by On the Edge of Forever
Joseph Heller - Catch 22
Which, as most of you will know, is a classic satire set in the second world war about a man in the US air force determined to escape the war. It's an excellent parody...
"I said to him, sir, that you couldn't find me guilty of the offense with which I am charged and still be faithful to the cause of . . ."
"Of what? You're mumbling."
"Stop mumbling."
"Yes, sir."
"And mumble 'sir' when you do."
"Metcalf, you bastard!"
"Yes, sir," mumbled Clevinger. "Of justice, sir. That you couldn't find--"
"Justice?" The colonel was astounded. "What is justice?"
"Justice, sir--"
"That's not what justice is," the colonel jeered, and began pounding the table again with his big fat hand. "That's what Karl Marx is. I'll tell you what justice is. Justice is a knee in the gut from the floor on the chin at night sneaky with a knife brought up down on the magazine of a battleship sandbagged underhanded in the dark without a word of warning. Garroting. That's what justice is whan we've all got to be tough enough and rough enough to fight Billy Petrolle. From the hip. Get it?"
"No, sir."
"Don't sir me!"
"Yes, sir."
"And say 'sir' when you don't," ordered Major Metcalf. Clevinger was guilty, of course, or he would not have been accused, and since the only way to prove it was to find him guilty, it was their patriotic duty to do so.