Slouching Towards Oblivion

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Fucking Easter

Sometimes, I need a little help remembering there are still lots of people wearing US colors who're fighting and bleeding and dying.  No matter what I think of their missions, or what I suspect about their leaders' motives, or that they're all personally responsible for their own actions, or anything else that gives me nightmares of dark heavy wings beating around all ours heads - I think it's important to concentrate on the obvious.  The simple truth is that these are people.  We trained them and armed them and sent then to places nobody wants to go.  Too many don't come home at all, and way too many are coming home with injuries we'll be having to deal with for a very long time.

Why do we insist on doing this to people we claim to love and honor?  Why do we insist on sending the best and the brightest among us to be killed in the most gruesome, horrific ways imaginable?  Why do we accept circumstances that make it nearly impossible to get any of our kids back from combat who aren't permanently damaged?

We are not threatened in any significant way.  There is no "existential risk" here - with the possible exception of the risk we pose to ourselves.

2 uniformed service members were killed in Iraq yesterday, bringing the total US Dead to 4,450 since March 2003.  When will Mr Obama keep his promise to end this stupid war?

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