Thanks Suzanne. As a male boomer turning 80 years, and a veteran, I am amazed to find that during my youth I embraced war and the military as exciting and patriotic. My father was a WW2 veteran and I cherished his stories, his uniform and medals. I remember playing ’ war’ with my friends in the Ohio farm fields, BB gun in hand, and exploding firecrackers for realism. And watching TV westerns with patriot cowboys spinning chromed pistols. In my teens I realized I had embraced a youthful mind set of romanticized violence and how easy it had happened. Then my time came in 1968 when I was drafted into the US Army for a look at the waste and horror of war, especially for young people who believed in a false story. Unfortunately nothing has changed in 80 years.
Thank you for being so open, Dean. I'm grateful for you pointing to how children are schooled in violence from an early age. It is made to appear normal and heroic. I feel that we betray young people who want to serve their country by portraying military service as the highest measure of devotion. How do we care for them when they begin to question the necessity of violence? Did you feel cared for?
I want to post two works of art to express my feelings: picasso’s Geurnica and Edwin Starr’s song WAR (what is it good for, absolutely nothin).
Recently watched, The Pacific, Stalingrad, and Band of Brothers. There is Nothing good about war.
Heartbroken for our family, and all our families on either side. Such a fucking waste.
Thanks, Paula. I appreciate your referring to Guernica — the senselessness of war, the futility and waste, breaks your heart.
Thanks Suzanne. As a male boomer turning 80 years, and a veteran, I am amazed to find that during my youth I embraced war and the military as exciting and patriotic. My father was a WW2 veteran and I cherished his stories, his uniform and medals. I remember playing ’ war’ with my friends in the Ohio farm fields, BB gun in hand, and exploding firecrackers for realism. And watching TV westerns with patriot cowboys spinning chromed pistols. In my teens I realized I had embraced a youthful mind set of romanticized violence and how easy it had happened. Then my time came in 1968 when I was drafted into the US Army for a look at the waste and horror of war, especially for young people who believed in a false story. Unfortunately nothing has changed in 80 years.
Thank you for being so open, Dean. I'm grateful for you pointing to how children are schooled in violence from an early age. It is made to appear normal and heroic. I feel that we betray young people who want to serve their country by portraying military service as the highest measure of devotion. How do we care for them when they begin to question the necessity of violence? Did you feel cared for?