There's just so much bad news out of Iraq, and we know in our hearts that we're only hearing a tiny fraction. And the combat situations are sucking the soul out of the young people in the midst of it, and looking the other way is sucking the soul out of our nation. It's beyond painful.
- What is it like to be on the ground in Iraq? Ira Glass of This American Life (a radio show on NPR) did a great show a few weeks ago that really gives you the sense -- not the sound of bombs but the upheaval of a life, as they follow National Guard troops thrown unprepared into circumstances beyond their training or their comprehension. Listen. You won't be able to tear yourself away.
- What is happening to us? Seymour Hersh looks at the consolidation of power in our national government, and also draws some disturbing parallels between Iraq and Vietnam. You can listen or read the transcript of the interview.
I have distinct memories of the rag-tag bunches of Vietnam vets who marched in the first ever welcome-home parade that they were given (in Kalamazoo, MI, and it was many, many years after the war), and they came from all over, wearing bits and pieces of their uniforms, and men in business suits along the way at last left their spots and joined in (yes! I was there too!), and I remember a helicopter coming over, and the hush that fell, and the faces uniformly turned skyward and the hands raised involuntarily in greeting.
Why would we ever do this to ourselves again? Why??
(Hersh via Follow Me Here)
Sorry, I'll go try to find something cheerful now...
No comments:
Post a Comment