Veterans Day makes me feel conflicted. I am appreciative of our soldiers, but I feel uncomfortable celebrating the concept of turning young men and women into warriors. I think this photo captures the insanity of war in a civilized world. The caption reads "A Cocker Spaniel Balances Himself On Top Of A 500 Pound Bomb. Hickam Field, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands." It is one of a series of recently declassified WW II photos now in the National Archives. Visit Footnotes to learn more about this image.
My husband is active duty military and I have to say on our behalf, we feel the same way. He joined because we were struggling, and although I have to say it helped to a degree, we are still scraping to buy groceries. Because he is “owned” by the government for a few more years, there is always a scary feeling that anything could happen to him at any time, especially when he has to deploy. He is a good guy with a good heart and hates the fact that he has been trained as a warrior, and may kill or be killed at any given time. Many soldiers are like him, people’s sons and daughters, moms, dads and they are putting their priceless lives on the line for a very low wage. They go through a lot more than many folks can imagine in their lifetime, and deserve every bit of recognition and a whole lot more, regardless of our feelings about the war, or war in general. Thank you for this post.
One good reason for driving the economy into the ground during 8 years of Bush is that it ensures a steady supply of soldiers who have no other options for getting ahead in the world. Cheap labor is what it’s all about on the Republican agenda!
Dear T – Thank you for sharing your experience. I felt relieved that you took my thoughts in the spirit they were meant. Not to be flip or dismissive about military service. But to look at the societal toll it takes on our nation and on individual families like yours. You point out one of the most troubling issues, that there is a great divide between most Americans, and those in the military. And it bothers me that when these holidays roll around, they are draped in heroism and red, white and blue. But the rest of the days are a nightmare of unimaginable proportions for service members and their families. The suicides, the bridges collapsing in our country due to lack of funds that go to 500 pound bombs instead. The families going bankrupt from medical expenses. We as a society are as broken as the soldiers who return. I was also very disturbed by the fact that when I Googled “dogs” and “war” images of Abu Ghraib kept appearing.
I hope your husband stays safe and whole for the remainder of his service. And I do appreciate the sacrifice of families like yours. I just hope for something better for all of us.
This is such a suggestive picture…I do agree with veterans but as you said, it’s not normal to take kids from their early days and give them guns and motivation to kill others. Anyway, I hope future generations take this into their mind and forget about the whole war idea… (even though you are considered a dreamer if you think this)
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