As Bee and I have been getting ready for our day, I've had ABC's Good Morning America on. Once again, another story about our troops over in Iraq. Fortunately this one was about someone coming home, alive. He's been gone for 10 months!! He has a one year old baby and has missed all of her "firsts". Unfortunately, over and over again we hear about the deaths and pain that this war is causing. How many more 1000's of INNOCENT lives have to be taken before Bush finally decides that enough is enough? I am thankful everyday that we have never had to deal with a war for longterm on American soil, but maybe if we had there would be more people who would see how horrible, awful, disgusting and heinous war and the taking of innocent lives actually is. I think it's easy for Americans to "dislocate" from it because it's not directly effecting most of us. Can you imagine not being able to feed your child because you were afraid to leave your house for fear of being killed? Can you imagine sending your child to school and not knowing if it would be standing by the end of the day? Whatever your feelings about war, this one or any other, or your feelings about Bush, how can anyone continue to say that we have a place in this war anymore? Maybe, it served a purpose in the beginning, but enough already?
My mom's friend's son has been sent over three times. THREE TIMES. He's back on American soil...in a hospital bed fighting for his life. Unfortunately for the men and women that sign their lives away to defend ours, our government doesn't see fit to do anything for them once they're back on American soil to help them deal with the things they saw or even had to do while they were over there. They send these young people into the worst of conditions and then don't do anything to rehabilitate them mentally once they're home. The young man who's in the hospital was dealing with his "ghosts" by drinking in a bar. Before you judge, keep in mind that most of us have never and hopefully will never have to see or do the things this young man has seen and had to do. He ended up in a bar fight. He was hit so hard in the head that they had to remove part of his shattered skull to make room for the swelling. He has basically no brain activity. He is just as much a victim as those that are killed over in Iraq and elsewhere, but it will never be recognized as such by our government!!
It's time for it to end!!
3 comments:
I agree...
I'm not denying the horrors of the war, but my cousin served in Afghanistan a couple of times and Iraq once, and he had plenty of positive stories to share... stories we won't ever see on the news of people who are thanking them for our help. I believe the culture there has terror so ingrained in it, that even with the positive stories that I've heard, I'm not so sure the people as a whole want change enough to utilize our help and get rid of their terrorists. and unless they want it, our efforts are futile.
Interestingly enough, my cousin is now a military instructor here in the states, but on the side he has started an alternative energies business... trying to help get rid of our "need" to protect the oil fields in the first place.
It's a tough situation. I'd like to spend some time talking with my friend's hubby who just returned from a year over there as a chaplain and see what his take on it is.
As much as I love our country and how we have fought for our freedom and others, a wave of fear came over me this last couple of weeks. I realized that in 6 years my son would have to register (18 yo males must register). I cringe and fear of losing him and then wonder if there was a draft would he be excused because of his medical problems or would our government be desperate enough to wave everything.
I don't know how my grandmother, mother and aunt survived as their men were off in the war. I was too little to remember dad being gone in Viet Nam.
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