War Thoughts
Mar. 2nd, 2003 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
susandennisDuring the Viet Nam war, I spent a lot of time and energy and shoe leather railing against the war. I was in college and not very sophisticated in thought or deed (although, of course, at the time, I thought I was wise beyond my years). I've been thinking about that time a lot recently and have come to realize that I honestly had no intellectual feelings about the United States' involvement in that war. I didn't understand anything about it, with one exception.
I did understand acutely that my government was forcing my friends of the male persuasion to go to a foreign country, live in rice patties and probably get killed. This was a real killer for two reasons. Outside of the obvious one, almost as painful for me was the guilt. I remember vividly sitting in a calculus class taking a test and looking around the room. I was the only female in the room. The test was the grade for the semester. I realized that if my classmates flunked that test, it could well mean they were off to be killed. If I flunked that test, it meant... well, nothing.
Today's war is being staffed by volunteers. That makes it an entirely different ballgame. And I'm still trying to noodle out what that means. Part of me says if no one volunteered, we wouldn't be going to war. I know - way too simplistic.
We have a whole lot of military around here in Seattle and every night, on the news, they interview a member of the military or their family. Invariably they say:
"We have to support our troops' - I don't know why. I really don't know why we have to.
"We don't want to go to war". And, you joined the military to, what, play tennis? Because the uniforms were cute???
"No one wants to go to war" Ok, you joined the military and they have taught you to kill people and you don't want to go to what is the Olympics of that?
I don't have the answers and I haven't even finished figuring out the questions. I do know that my prejudice is deep. The National Guard shot students less than 2 hours away from me. Now they are going off to kill people in other countries and they want me to support them? The government forced my friends to interrupt their lives and go get killed. And now they want me to grab that flag and wave it in concert with the whole idea?
Ok, I've been thinking about this for a while and thought that writing about it would help me understand it... It's just pissing me off so I think maybe I need to think some more.
I did understand acutely that my government was forcing my friends of the male persuasion to go to a foreign country, live in rice patties and probably get killed. This was a real killer for two reasons. Outside of the obvious one, almost as painful for me was the guilt. I remember vividly sitting in a calculus class taking a test and looking around the room. I was the only female in the room. The test was the grade for the semester. I realized that if my classmates flunked that test, it could well mean they were off to be killed. If I flunked that test, it meant... well, nothing.
Today's war is being staffed by volunteers. That makes it an entirely different ballgame. And I'm still trying to noodle out what that means. Part of me says if no one volunteered, we wouldn't be going to war. I know - way too simplistic.
We have a whole lot of military around here in Seattle and every night, on the news, they interview a member of the military or their family. Invariably they say:
"We have to support our troops' - I don't know why. I really don't know why we have to.
"We don't want to go to war". And, you joined the military to, what, play tennis? Because the uniforms were cute???
"No one wants to go to war" Ok, you joined the military and they have taught you to kill people and you don't want to go to what is the Olympics of that?
I don't have the answers and I haven't even finished figuring out the questions. I do know that my prejudice is deep. The National Guard shot students less than 2 hours away from me. Now they are going off to kill people in other countries and they want me to support them? The government forced my friends to interrupt their lives and go get killed. And now they want me to grab that flag and wave it in concert with the whole idea?
Ok, I've been thinking about this for a while and thought that writing about it would help me understand it... It's just pissing me off so I think maybe I need to think some more.
