[GCFL-discuss] War

[gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net]

I just read a review of the documentary "Last Letters Home" that
premiered recently on HBO. I don't subscribe to HBO, so I haven't seen it
yet. But two points about it seemed worth sharing:

"In the hour long program, grieving relatives read aloud from letters,
cards and e-mail sent by trooops who died in Iraq, and comment on the
ways they've been affected by the loss of their loved ones. The program
is not about pro-war or anti-war sentiments, or grand geopolitical
visions. It just gives us a glimpse of the searing personal toll that is
inevitable in war. I imagine it would be difficult for anyone to see it
and not take the war more seriously. Anything that imposes such
unmitigated agony should give us pause."

"As much as possible, the reality of war is kept at a distance from the
American people, which is a shame. My own belief is that the pain of war
should be much more widely shared. That would help guard us against wars
that are unnecessary, and ensure a more collective effort in those that
are inevitable."

These remarks were from Bob Herbert. They remind me of how different the
war effort for World War II was -- I was born nine years after the war,
but plenty has been written, and I could still hear an echo from the
adults around me who lived through it. Campaigns urged civilians to "kick
the oil habit" to conserve fuel for the war effort, scarce foods were
rationed, children collected scrap metals, families grew Victory Gardens,
butchers collected fats brought back to the store by their customers
after cooking meat -- so the fats could be used in making munitions. The
homefront was a real front, even if civilians weren't under fire. There
are campaigns to collect videos for the troops, to buy body armor for the
troops, but do any of us, whether cheering on the war effort, or
denouncing the strategic thinking that inspired it, really share in the
sacrifices made on the front lines?

Just a thought.

Siarlys


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