What would he cry for? Does a man breakdown in public or in private? Does he look into the deep abyss of sorrow and finally give up? If he’s faced with his own death, what does he see or think in the final moments?
This is what I think of when I read that U.S. deaths in Iraq are down 66% in 2008. While this number is impressive, who does it impress? Does it impress the survivors left behind who had to bear the death of their son, husband or brother? No, I’m sorry but, I don’t think 66% LESS DEATH is impressive nor even worth mentioning. I think that ZERO death tolls work well for all concerned.
Has any reader ever seen a dead body prepared for burial? I have. The eyes upon death are open and the life has been sucked away to a pale blue and the skin is cold and pale. If the body has been decimated by gunshot, explosion or some other man-made device, the pieces left behind are nothing but, remnants of an individual who loved and was loved. Young men are the greatest loss, as they have not had a chance to be who they could be for 75+ years. They may have never had a family, had a chance to have a family and, what family they leave behind have lost something that NO ONE can relate to as each death is personal.
When I see caskets being carried by honor guard in pomp and circumstance, there is something very wrong with that picture. I can guarantee you that the honor guard carrying their fellow serviceman are extremely grateful they’re NOT the one being carried. One great line (by a great author) is Death Be Not Proud.
Someone (anyone) needs to stop the senseless killing. If I was the leader of this country, I could not sleep, eat or drink until I knew that the very last possible soul in Iraq was back on American soil with their families. My conscience would overwhelm me to the point of the absolute decision to NOT sacrifice MY people for any cause on this planet - that was not a direct threat to the soil on which I live and must protect.
The play for Iraq was nothing more than strategic real estate move to gain easy access to problematic areas. Weapons of mass destruction may have been nothing more than a ploy to gain that very expensive piece of real estate.
We allow others to create a scenario, which leads us to believe that America must fight or take a stand to right a wrong – even if those in control of the creation of that scenario are the ones who gave life to the wrong.
All I know is that every casket that comes back from that God forsaken desert with an American inside - is for nothing. You can’t convince with political rhetoric that it was the right thing to do or, that the end results will win peace and democracy. In fact, peace is nothing but an illusion, which can never be realized and democracy is only for those who wish to partake in its fruits without it being thrust upon them.
Throughout history, this country has sat back while millions were slaughtered by dictators and fascists. In some cases, the slaughtering went on for a long time and then we’d finally take the necessary steps to say “no more”. However, in general, seems we were just fine with others slaughtering their own until it gets out of hand completely. When I see images of mass graves in Iraq recently uncovered, I think we can all assume that the slaughtering was going on for some time.
Now the Israelis and Palestinians are at it again. They’re just looking for any reason to “off” each other and we’ll sit back until it gets completely out of hand and we’ll finally say “now, we won’t have any more of that” and have to decide the “side” that best serves our purpose. I say, stay out of it and let them have a go at each other. If both sides are fine with killing innocent women and children then I say, let’s not send any of our folks over there to defend any side, as I don’t want to see another parade of caskets coming home with Americans inside for a cause that can be never be won or even controlled. If people hate each other, they will continue to hate each other, destroy each, blow each other up and take as many innocents along with them to their God.
You see, if people do NOT want peace, want to fight and kill each other, then I say, let them have a go of it with EACH other. We don’t have to be peacekeepers for the world, as there’s no end in sight for peace in this world. There’s no control – just negotiations. You can send all the Rice you want to every part of the world and the result will be a bleeding band-aid.
So, here we are coming into 2009, with 66% less death in Iraq, Israelis and Palestinians killing and bombing and each other, caskets still making their way back from Iraq, with the bodies of young men who just began death before life and an economy, which is defined by the word “bailout”.
Have a Happy New Year.
