2003-03-17|1:21 a.m.
I am having a pretty shitty day for no particular reason at all. I am letting things I cannot control bother me.
And I should warn you that this is another entry about the war. Sorry. I know, that instead of writing about my daily happenings, my own life, my own shortcomings, I tend to write about things like this. These things move through time like waves crashing to the shore� and I might as well be a spec of sand in its way.
But, naturally, this diary is my catharsis.
Maybe a few American soldiers will die. But, not very many. Much like the first war with Iraq, the few deaths of our soldiers will come from accidents in drills for preparation of war and negligent �friendly fire.�
But, there IS a reason that we are sending 77,000 body bags to Iraq. They plan to be filled by someone.
I don�t mean to dwell on this. It really doesn�t do any good. But, when I hear anti-war protestors called un-American, I feel sick to my stomach. It seems obvious to me that it is this very practice of democracy that defines Americanism. Our history was founded upon opposition to government when we felt it was unjust. But this argument is as old as the problem. It is the best way to discredit dissidence with abstract notions of nationalism.
But this is only part of the reason that hearing these things bother me. It is the reading this headline (and many others like it):
�Nation Rallies for Peace and U.S. Troops�
On the one side are people who rally for peace. On the other are those that rally for troops? Ok, I missed a step. This means that if you are asking to avoid war you are on the opposition of the troops? I am confused. My impression is that peace will mean that troops go home, see their families again, don�t have to kill a bunch of strangers and live with the psychological aftermath, etc. Peace sounds pretty pro-U.S. troops to me.
And I am not seeing any Jane Fonda-esque crap either. People aren�t harassing the troops. Hell, they haven�t even come home yet.
I asked my dad (who narrowly avoided the Vietnam War because he hurt his trigger hand playing handball, thank god) a few years ago while we were watching the History Channel together, �Was it even as big as people said it was? Were protestors all spitting in the faces of soldiers and calling them baby killers?�
�Well, it happened because you saw the footage. And Jane Fonda was an idiot. But, if you notice it is always the same footage. For the most part people just wanted their brothers, husbands, friends, and sons to come home.�
My dad never protested. And as of yet, neither have I. But we both respect the right to join a group movement and express your concerns and this includes actors and actresses and plumbers and tax collectors and everybody else. Hell, even Charlie Daniels can have an opinion, as ignorant and ridiculous as it may be.
And I also want to say that I really hope that no one spits on anyone or calls them horrible things like "baby killers" and such. In fact, do the right thing and don�t say anything negative to anyone who has only two options: either follow orders in war or go to military prison and/or get killed (and not just by the �enemy� but also by their own government from what I am told). So, I don�t think that the second option is even really an option we can righteously argue that someone should take. And face it; a lot of people join the military because it is the option to take when you don�t know what to do out of high school and want to make more than minimum wage. Hell, join ranks and you can find a way to get your government to give you something 40 million of us don�t have: healthcare! YAY! Where do I enlist? I haven�t been to a dentist in years.
The news says that these soldiers are disheartened by anti-war protestors. Articles are quoting them as feeling unappreciated and fearful of the sort of backlash reminiscent of Vietnam. And where are they hearing this from according to the articles? From their friends and families back home in letters and phone calls. WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU TELL THAT TO SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT?!? Here is the news that you least want to hear in the most biased form I could give it to you in� blah, blah, blah. Oh, and I love you.
I don�t get it.
And the thing that bothers me most is people who are doing these �pro-war� rallies:
(conservatives are no where as good-lookin' as liberals, by the way)
Seriously, the most nauseous feeling overwhelms me when I encounter this aggressive stance towards killing people for retribution. It is much like people gathering to cheer for someone about to die in a death penalty sentence. That sign is right. This isn't political football. In fact, it isn't a sports game at all. And you don't cheer for teams. GO US! Iraqis are human beings. And even if you believe for whatever reason they are the enemy, they are going to die. It is revolting to think that people look forward to this sort of vengeance.
And from a pop country song called �Have You Forgotten� by Darryl Worley that was #9 on the Billboard charts last week:
�Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell�
�Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right�
A fight with anyone at all. As long as they�re Arab, Muslim, and located in some country in the Middle East most of us cannot point out on a map (I�ll brag: I only missed one question in the �Test Yourself�). Because (from another pop country song written after 9/11 called �Where were you?� by Alan Jackson)�.
�I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I'm not sure I can tell you the difference
in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God�
And that is all it takes to be satisfied. On September 11th over 2,000 people died in a terrorist attack. And filling 77,000 body bags with people completely unrelated to it is going to make us safer, happier, and avenged?
�You may say that I�m a dreamer. Well, I�m not the only one��