Independence Day

 

One day last week, as we road the trains to and from whatever fun thing we were doing while on vacation, I read an opinion-editorial in the New York Times. The title caught my attention. It was called "Wounds You Can't See" by Bob Herbert. The idea of this article was the fact that thousands of our men and women who are serving abroad, whether in Iraq or in Afghanistan, are returning home with many psychological and mental "injuries" and how many will never seek treatment for them. While they were certainly medicated on the front lines of battle, some will choose not to continue that treatment once they are back home. The statistics were staggering and the predictions of the effects were shocking.

But what he had to say about this war and how it differs from previous wartimes in our country hit home to me. He said:

"On the home front, this is as pleasant a wartime environment as one could imagine. That’s actually an added danger for the young men and women who have volunteered to fight in those far-off lands. It’s too easy for the larger society to put them out of sight and out of mind."

Supporting this argument was an author I recently saw on a morning talkshow who is an embedded reporter, having lived in Iraq since the war started over five years ago. He explained to the interviewer that when he comes home now fewer people are interested in what is happening in Iraq and how our troops are doing. He said he is the one who has to go out and solicit people to give him any publicity at all so he can continue to get the word out about the war. He said very few people are interested in the war anymore -- they've gone on with their lives and the war is an afterthought at best.

In the meantime, there has been very little call for general sacrifice during this wartime. We've continued on in our self-indulgent, self-gratifying and "gotta have it all" lifestyles. Our grandparents experienced wartimes that made them a part of what was going on. They sacrificed their lives even though they weren't on the battlefields. They suffered through economic depressions, ate less, bought less, took on more jobs to make up for the loss of workforce due to deployment and they were glued to their radios to hang on every word that they could get on the progress being made.

And they did that for us. And why? So we could buy bigger and better houses when the houses we have are just fine? So we could have more and more stuff? So we could drive our gas-guzzling SUV's and then whine that we are paying $4 a gallon for gas, when in comparison our prices are not nearly has high as some other third-world countries?

I'm not a political blogger, really I'm not. And I will honestly say that the day I picked up the New York Times was the first time I've really ever read the New York Times. But I will have to say that it was a powerful reminder that we have forgotten the thousands upon thousands of people who are sacrificing everything so we can live comfortably and freely. We've forgotten them and we need to remember them.

As Herbert concluded his article, he reminded us:

"However one feels about the nation’s war policies, we have an ironclad obligation to look out for the short- and long-term needs of the troops we send off to combat. In the absence of any general call for sacrifice, it’s the least we can do...Right now we’re not even doing that."

Take some time today to remember our troops and seek out ways to thank them and support them and the families they leave behind. Then tomorrow when you wake up...do it again!

Happy 4th of July!

Blessings,
Dori