I saw a lot of me in Rebecca yesterday. She is beside herself over her cousin Kyler’s decision to enlist in the Marines. Rebecca’s good friend Roger did the same and endured two tours of duty in the Middle East before “graduating” to civilian life. While he was honorably discharged, Roger has very little positive to say of his military experience. Rebecca shares Kyler’s aspiration to not follow the crowd and to live life in a way that contributes to the larger good rather than selfishly taking advantage of it. This is why his decision to become a lean, mean killing machine just doesn’t compute in her searching mind.
When I chose to “enlist” in the paramilitary profession of law enforcement, my greatest quandary was the use of deadly force. I was fortunate enough to make it through six years as a cop without ever having to use it, but I have to think that a soldier doesn’t have the same degree of discretion when placed in a combat situation. With the Middle East spiraling deeper into its own ancient quagmire combined with King George’s conviction that it is any of our business, I, too, fear that Kyler may eventually face having to make the decision to take human life under less than ideal conditions.
You have to hand it to the people who have orchestrated the United States’ “war on terror.” I daily grow stronger in my belief that 9/11 was conspired by the same military industrial complex that succeeded in stealing the presidential election of 2000. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly but surely fitting together and I daresay that someday in the future Americans will be charged with the same immoral behavior that continues to haunt the legacies of Nazi Germany. But in the meantime, young men and women will continue to be recruited in the name of patriotism to a shame that will make that of the Viet Nam vets pale by comparison.
In 1940, Tamara's father enlisted in the Army Air Corp. His motivation to serve may be the same one that motivated Kyler. As a bomber pilot and later a jet pilot, he flew missions in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Because of excellent training some might say he became a "lean, mean killing machine." I don't know all the details of all the missions he flew, but because of his skill and training, he and the men he led in battle were able to accomplish their mission's and come home to their families. Colonel Evans did not love war but he understood the price of freedom. The wrong and the right of any conflict can be seen through different eyes. Both Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain diagreed with how to confront Hitler. Being wrong only cost Chamberlain his place in history. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, his failure to react to the "gathering storm" came with a far steeper price for them.
ReplyDeleteToday we are faced with similar decisions. The threat of radical Islam is real. A review of the last 29 years has a chilling effect.http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/timeline.htm
Finally those who compare this current conflict in any way with Nazi Germany have a poor knowledge of history. When I lived in France I had made the aqaintance of a former resitance fighter. She had received the Freedom Medal from General Eisenhower and awarded the French Legion of Merit, the highest honor in the French Military. She was ultimately captured by the Gestapo and after several months in their custody was sent to a concentration camp in Germany. She shared with me just some of the horrors she witnessed and the torture she endured. Remarkably, she survived to return to France and her family. When I hear people talk of Guantamo and Abugrab, and use the term torture I can't believe the retoric. I can't speak for Rose Fluvia, but I believe that posing nude, having dogs bark at her, having to put underwear on her head, would have been a better choice that what she endured at the hands of the Germans.
Several years after the horror of Rwanda, President Clinton flew their on behalf of the United States to apologize for not acting. Though sincere, I'm not sure it was of much comfort to the families of the 800,000 people who lost thier lives. There are many who aknowlede evil. It take courage and determination and resolve to confront it. To paraphrase Golda Meir, we won't have peace until all mankind love their children more than they hate others.
A curiously patriotic American response from someone I know considers himself to be a disciple of the Christ. I can't help but wonder if Jesus of Nazareth would buy into your rationale.
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