2007 Independence Day (4th of July for those lacking such knowledge as the meaning of the date) has now passed in a cloud of gun powder, alcohol, littering, cookouts and lack of awareness. I listened to the rockets red glare until about 2 a.m. this morning as the neighborhood erupted in the usual thousands of dollars spent on fireworks each year just on my block. Each explosion and each mortar like sound caused my mind to wander back to that greatest of all fireworks show, War.
Yeah, War. War is what the day is all about and yet most Americans out waving their flags and blowing up their neighborhoods gave little or no thought American, Iraqi and Afghan kids were getting killed and maimed in the continuation of War that has touched almost every American generation.
Then there were the typical memorials to War done by the local members of the Armed Services either active duty or reservists. Or by the veterans of previous years of War. The usual protocol for the ceremony was the glorification of the “sacrifice” to protect American life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Here in Denver a special ceremony took place to honor a Navy Seals combat veteran of War in Afghanistan. The Seal was killed in action during his tour and awarded The Navy Cross, the second highest award for valor in the Navy.
A statue of the man in full battle gear, holding his weapon and hand grenades clipped to his body armor was unveiled in a local park near his childhood home. It also resides along the path of school children of two different schools in the area. Grade school and middle school kids will see the statute of the “warrior” each day on their way to school.
One group of parents took exception to the statue. They felt it glorified violence and War. A statue of a young man in full combat gear holding a weapon seemed to connote a message of approval for war the group reasoned.
The “peaceniks” were met with a howl of anger and abuse by the "forever veterans" groups and the family and friends of the Navy Seal. How dare someone question a monument to a fallen “hero” of the war against terrorism seemed to be their theme of angst and angry remarks.
Danny Dietz, the Navy Seal, didn’t deserve to die in a foreign land at such a young age. He didn’t deserve to be manipulated and duped as his government has done to so many young Americans. He didn’t deserve to enter into the violence of War which was based on lies and distortions of the truth.
This young man was the victim of a culture that seems only capable of solving problems between nations with violence. He and so many of his generation are victims of a military industrial complex that has made War a major industry in this nation.
Five hundred billion dollars and counting has gone to the War in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over 700,000 dead Iraqis have been victims of an illegal and immoral War. In case someone has missed it; 90% of the dead of War since the period call World War II have been innocent civilians. 30% of that number is children.
Smart bombs, artillery, aerial bombs, cluster bombs, deviated forms of napalm and white phosphorous bombs and all the extensive and expensive arsenal of the Great American War Machine are in truth instruments of terror and horror used against a mostly innocent population of men, women and children.
Smedley Butler, the much decorated War hero of the Marines, lamented his “service” to the military industrial complex. At the end of his career, Butler knew he’d been used to only further the interests of rich and powerful factions of the American society. Butler realized the sacrifice of the men he led in War and the pain and grief he endured was done only to further the elite oligarchy posing as democracy.
I listen to the continued assault in my neighborhood from fireworks representing the implements of War and blanch and startle often. I grit my teeth in anger because young children are being allowed to be groomed for War by parents unwilling to educate themselves on the reality.
Parents of the American soldier and Marine have often bought in to the bull shit of the cartoon action figures or the video game heroes. They watch the tube controlled by huge corporations who benefit greatly from War and believe their way of life is in danger from radical extremists.
The true radical extreme terrorists reside within the borders of American soil based in Washington D.C. Proponents of death and destruction are allowed to run amuck in form of politicians, lobbyists for huge business conglomerates and Zionists and zealots claiming to have the ear of God.
Holidays like Memorial Day and Independence Day are nothing but an exercise in flaunting American materialistic superiority. Perfect examples of the culture are “hot dog eating sports” and huge consumption of alcohol. Any mention of young men and women dying in a foreign land is looked upon as an intrusion of the party that takes place.
On the other extreme are the fat old men and women dressed in the colors of the American flag, the noise polluting Harley honor guards and the America, Love it Or Leave it faction who see it as their duty to glorify and deify War.
Of course there are liberals and progressives who swear they can right the sinking American oil tanker by legislative process. They show up dutifully at the offices of congress people to ask them to take a moral stand. But they don’t usually phrase it like that. They nicely point out the bills before Congress that almost represent their views they’d like the Congressmen and women to support.
The key attitude of liberals and progressives is tolerance. They ask the oppressed to continue tolerance toward the oppressor. They ask the troops and their families to tolerate continued stop losses and extended tours in combat while they attempt to persuade the lawmakers to bring them all home.
The last national election in 2006 seemed a clear mandate to bring an end to the war in Iraq and to bring the troops home. Besides some lame non-binding resolutions and votes that will clearly be vetoed without power to overturn the veto, there has been no true movement to bring troops home.
There have been extended times of tours, a “surge” that increased the number of troops in harm’s way, decreased availability to mental health treatment, inadequate treatment of traumatic brain injuries and overt attempts to take away benefits from returned vets by labeling them with psychiatric diagnoses termed pre-existing (e.g. personality disorders).
Meanwhile there are ever increasing declines in social programs. Poor families seeking rent aid will wait well past the time of eviction, mental health programs will continue to fall short of the needed funding to actually treat clients within minimal standards, jails have become the new mental health treatment centers and prisons continue to incarcerate more and more marginalized citizens for non-violent offenses. Self medicating in impoverished and helpless neighborhoods continues to be common and the system continues to criminalize the victims of the system meant to keep the elite and rich in power and the have-nots helpless.
Liberals and progressives want us to believe the oligarchy is really a democracy even after they watch Michael Moore demonstrate through this nation’s healthcare system just what oligarchy means. Moore, to his credit, shows healthcare’s despicable history in the United States in his movie “Sicko” and also, using comparisons with Canada, Great Britain and France, shows nations that have at least limited democracy while the U.S. continues to discourage and strangle the citizens who attempt to make changes.
I keep asking if the Patriot Act has been repealed, the constant spying on citizens stopped and the criminal actions of the Executive Branch stopped. It seems we’re no closer today than at the beginning of the Bush Administration’s first inauguration. In truth, we continue to plummet into the abyss of totalitarian rule.
Reports of secret, but not really secret, ghost armies like Blackwater Security are they now outnumber the number of troops in Iraq. At home the ghost armies are building bases for themselves in key areas of the nation. Conspiracy theorists posit the bases are really camps that will be used when martial law is declared following a manufactured crisis like that of September 11, 2001.
Whatever the outcome, the ghost armies will remain for the next regime elected in 2008. They will consist of the most highly trained and indoctrinated troops that have retired to six figure jobs. Their loyalty belongs to the true American flag; the green paper of the American monetary system.
Friends and acquaintances tell me I need to be more positive and try to take a less angry stance in my writings and actions. Others have tried to turn me on to new age philosophy of meditation that is supposed to help bring peace to our world. Thich Nhat Hanh would have me become “mindful” in my actions.
I wish I could let go of the dead bodies of soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen that die in these illegal and immoral wars. I wish I could put the thought of bombs dropping onto children into the recesses of my mind that aren’t constantly being used. I wish I could not feel rage toward those who stand in the way of ending the war and bringing the troops home.
The problem with all that I wish is facing Iraq vets with the thousand yard stares or mothers unable to reconcile the death of their babies. The problem is every day the insanity of war continues a son or daughter is going to die. It may be an American, an Iraqi or an Afghan child but children will die each day.
Continued rallies of the same people, continued meetings without different tactics and continued preening and pimping toward the mainstream press obviously hasn’t worked. Good people with good hearts aren’t enough to end this war and this tyranny consuming this nation. Real action must be taken.
So, in the words of one of my favorite people, William Sloane Coffin, I will remain outraged. If folks aren’t outraged then I’m going to consider there’s something wrong with them. If I insult them with my rage, I guess that’s what Independence Day really means for the individual in America….it’s allowed.
Wm. Terry Leichner,RN
Denver VVAW member
combat veteran of Vietnam
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