Right, GUEST. And the deed itself. Opting for a self-destructive course of action when a recognized and completely feasible alternative is available, then bull-headedly pursuing the self-destructive option, despite a loud chorus of warnings and objections of those around them. The feared disaster, clearly seen and warned of by almost everybody but those in power, occurs as predicted.

The subtitle of Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly is "From Troy to Vietnam." Between those two events, she details an amazing string of monumental blunders, foreseen and warned of at the time, committed by established rulers and governments. This self-destructive behavior seems to be born of a strange mix of short-sightedness and arrogance. Barbara Tuchman is no longer with us, but it appears that if she were, she could soon add a lengthy, well-documented chapter to her incisive book.

Don Firth