Opinion > Star Guests
Paying the price of freedom
By Bob Weir
As we celebrate this Memorial Day at community gatherings and barbecues with our families, let's not forget the meaning behind the holiday.
Countless numbers of men and women have lost their lives in battlefields around the world. Those of us who have never worn the uniform of this great country in hostile territory will never fully understand the horrors of war. That's because we're fortunate enough to have volunteers who do the fighting for us. Not only do they sacrifice their time with families, they face the daily threat of losing life and limb. While struggling to survive, they must also maintain a code of military conduct that their enemies are not bound by.
In addition to being killed in combat, our men and women in uniform have been tortured, hacked to pieces, soaked with gasoline and set afire before being hung upside down in public. That's the way the enemy treats its prisoners! After seeing their fellow soldiers suffer the most ghastly deaths imaginable, it is nevertheless expected that every U.S. serviceman and woman use kid gloves to treat those whom they capture. And, when one of our troops steps out of line, even for the slightest infraction, there's a rapid apology from our State Department and a court martial for the offending soldier.
I know, we are a civilized country and we're supposed to be above any and all inhumane treatment. As an orderly society, with readily enforced rules of behavior, including stop lights, speed limits, and cross at the green, not in between regulations, it's easy to follow a pattern of civility. However, our soldiers are not fighting the battles on Maple Avenue in East Cupcake, Neb. They're in war-ravaged tribal societies, dodging bullets and bombs every day, and seeing their friends get their heads blown off on a regular basis. They're sleeping intermittently amid the cacophony of explosions and mortar fire; their beds are made of dirt and sand, and they wouldn't place a bet on living past tomorrow. Under such conditions, one tends to view the world through a dysfunctional prism.
The rest of us lucky folks are well fed, clothed, and sheltered in our antiseptic bubble, free from the psychotic influence of battle. We connect to the war with a remote control button that brings us sound bite journalism and flashy images that we have come to associate with the pyrotechnic displays we see in the movies. For some it's entertaining, for others, informative, but for all it's a simple and safe method of staying in touch with the war, and discussing its merits and demerits while passing the mashed potatoes and gravy at the dinner table.
When an investigation of abuse begins, U.S. Senators take their turn questioning and criticizing the generals and the civilian authorities who have responsibility for the warriors in the field. They make it clear that Americans don't tolerate abuse of any kind, notwithstanding the conditions under which the soldiers must struggle daily against an unmerciful enemy. Civility, being profoundly more important than self-preservation, means the soldier must conform to the rules, even as his adversary plots to disembowel him. Some years ago, accusations of conduct that "humiliated" prisoners became a global news story. Perhaps if our troops had shot the prisoners, instead of humiliating them, there would be no outrage. Human rights groups protestbitterly against any abuse by U.S. soldiers, but are oddly reticent when terrorists make bonfires with the bodies of our soldiers. Because our troops are sold as the good guys, I suppose they should not allow themselves the luxury of anger, hatred, and revenge against those who wantonly kill their buddies.
We expect them to resemble little toy soldiers, marching into the smoke and fire with uniforms neatly pressed and Colgate smiles on their faces. These young men and women, raised in small towns and large cities in the good old USA, are never quite sure what to expect if called to fight on the other side of the world. Weary from battle fatigue, and the constant struggle for survival, even some of the most milk-fed, religious minded, values based products of this great democracy can become corrupted from exposure to a culture of death and degeneracy.
Some will say this is merely an excuse for bad behavior in a war zone. To those I would ask, how many times have you had to wipe off your friends' blood and brains when they showered your uniform after a sniper attack? If you've never had the experience, you simply don't know what you're talking about! Therefore, enjoy your mashed potatoes with gravy and be thankful that the closest you'll ever come to war is that large flat-screen TV in your safe and comfortable living room.
Countless numbers of men and women have lost their lives in battlefields around the world. Those of us who have never worn the uniform of this great country in hostile territory will never fully understand the horrors of war. That's because we're fortunate enough to have volunteers who do the fighting for us. Not only do they sacrifice their time with families, they face the daily threat of losing life and limb. While struggling to survive, they must also maintain a code of military conduct that their enemies are not bound by.
In addition to being killed in combat, our men and women in uniform have been tortured, hacked to pieces, soaked with gasoline and set afire before being hung upside down in public. That's the way the enemy treats its prisoners! After seeing their fellow soldiers suffer the most ghastly deaths imaginable, it is nevertheless expected that every U.S. serviceman and woman use kid gloves to treat those whom they capture. And, when one of our troops steps out of line, even for the slightest infraction, there's a rapid apology from our State Department and a court martial for the offending soldier.
I know, we are a civilized country and we're supposed to be above any and all inhumane treatment. As an orderly society, with readily enforced rules of behavior, including stop lights, speed limits, and cross at the green, not in between regulations, it's easy to follow a pattern of civility. However, our soldiers are not fighting the battles on Maple Avenue in East Cupcake, Neb. They're in war-ravaged tribal societies, dodging bullets and bombs every day, and seeing their friends get their heads blown off on a regular basis. They're sleeping intermittently amid the cacophony of explosions and mortar fire; their beds are made of dirt and sand, and they wouldn't place a bet on living past tomorrow. Under such conditions, one tends to view the world through a dysfunctional prism.
The rest of us lucky folks are well fed, clothed, and sheltered in our antiseptic bubble, free from the psychotic influence of battle. We connect to the war with a remote control button that brings us sound bite journalism and flashy images that we have come to associate with the pyrotechnic displays we see in the movies. For some it's entertaining, for others, informative, but for all it's a simple and safe method of staying in touch with the war, and discussing its merits and demerits while passing the mashed potatoes and gravy at the dinner table.
When an investigation of abuse begins, U.S. Senators take their turn questioning and criticizing the generals and the civilian authorities who have responsibility for the warriors in the field. They make it clear that Americans don't tolerate abuse of any kind, notwithstanding the conditions under which the soldiers must struggle daily against an unmerciful enemy. Civility, being profoundly more important than self-preservation, means the soldier must conform to the rules, even as his adversary plots to disembowel him. Some years ago, accusations of conduct that "humiliated" prisoners became a global news story. Perhaps if our troops had shot the prisoners, instead of humiliating them, there would be no outrage. Human rights groups protestbitterly against any abuse by U.S. soldiers, but are oddly reticent when terrorists make bonfires with the bodies of our soldiers. Because our troops are sold as the good guys, I suppose they should not allow themselves the luxury of anger, hatred, and revenge against those who wantonly kill their buddies.
We expect them to resemble little toy soldiers, marching into the smoke and fire with uniforms neatly pressed and Colgate smiles on their faces. These young men and women, raised in small towns and large cities in the good old USA, are never quite sure what to expect if called to fight on the other side of the world. Weary from battle fatigue, and the constant struggle for survival, even some of the most milk-fed, religious minded, values based products of this great democracy can become corrupted from exposure to a culture of death and degeneracy.
Some will say this is merely an excuse for bad behavior in a war zone. To those I would ask, how many times have you had to wipe off your friends' blood and brains when they showered your uniform after a sniper attack? If you've never had the experience, you simply don't know what you're talking about! Therefore, enjoy your mashed potatoes with gravy and be thankful that the closest you'll ever come to war is that large flat-screen TV in your safe and comfortable living room.
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