Today, it will be 7 years since the days of "Shock & Awe" and "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.
And. We're. Still. Living. With. War.
From Huffington Post - At 7th Anniversary of 'Photo Op': Mission Still NOT Accomplished by Greg Mitchell, the former editor of Editor & Publisher (the newspaper for newspaper editors) and author of "So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits and the President Failed on Iraq.":
Saturday marks the 7th anniversary of Mission Accomplished Day, or as it might better be known, Mission Accomplished (NOT) Day. Coming on a weekend, there will be even fewer mentions of this in the national media than last year, and Keith Olbermann, whose show does not air on Saturdays, will not be around to update the usual close to his telecast when he marks exactly how many days since Bush declared victory.
In my favorite antiwar song of this war, "Shock and Awe," Neil Young moaned:
"Back in the days of Mission Accomplished
our chief was landing on the deck
The sun was setting
behind a golden photo op."
But as Neil added elsewhere: "History is a cruel judge of overconfidence."
More on why we're still living with war.
Neil Young / Shock & Awe by ivaxavi
Whatever
ReplyDeleteNice analysis there Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteAs a huge Neil fan who also happens to be a conservative, I found 'Living With War' to be one of Neil's best in a long time when it came out in 2006. I simply could not stop listening to it for both the songs themselves and the messages being conveyed.
War is the ultimate example of the human spirit gone way off course - to put it mildly. And I certainly don't think war or "anti-war" should ever be a liberal/conservative issue or debate. Unfortunately it gets spun that way in the media. Beyond sad. Forget George Bush - what about the lives lost that will never return home?
you peacenicks don't have a clue. War is a neccessary evil-DUH! some wars are "just" can you say "American Civil War" or should we still have slavery?
ReplyDeleteLEARN some history Hippies!
Chili
More broad sweeping generalizations, right Chili? The American Civil War was NOT about slavery at all in the beginning - it was about states' rights. Go read some history yourself since you seem to want to act so self righteous.
ReplyDelete"War is a necessary evil-DUH!"
wow - sheer ignorance is perhaps humanity's most expensive and dangerous commodity.
I'm living with war right now!
ReplyDelete- Not Rotten Johnny
Looks like we're still lookin' for a leader to bring out country home, to boot.
ReplyDeleteAnd when the dawn breaks I see my fellow man, on the flat-screen we kill and we're killed again.
It just keeps goin' on.
While the dead pile up. Another young man from my home-town was killed a couple of weeks ago. He joins my friend SSGT Jason M. Butkus, who was killed in Fallujah in 2007, another hero for that ever-growing cemetary in Washington, filled with the remains of young, vibrant lives cut off in their prime, that just keeps growing and growing while the corporate CEOs and politicians rake in huge profits to fill their gluttonous bank accounts with while they make a mockery of the ideals of freedom and democracy.
It's disgusting.
I'm sorry, but my big brother Jay,(Ssgt Jason M. Butkus)was killed in Baghdad, Iraq. So please get your facts straight. I have much more to say, but rather than go on, I will ask again, please get your facts straight...I apologize, but I feel the need to get the facts straight. What you are doing is absolutely disrepectful to my brother. He would not have wanted you using his name in this manner...You are free to do what you want to because of people like him, suporting our country and doing what they are requested to do for good of their country. I'm sorry that you seem to have forgotten that your freedom of speech is defended by our military, while you sit back at home and have the opportunity and freedom to debate it all...seems to me it must be a nice life for you. But yet again, please get your facts straight and please don't use my brother in this way.
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ReplyDeleteTonya,
ReplyDeleteJay was a great man. I could only aspire to his sense of honor, his supportive nature, and his loyalty to his friends, family and country.
Jason died because of his principles of honor and duty, and in his mind he was fighting for freedom.
I meant no disrespect.
Jay is a personal hero of mine, and will always be an inspiration to me.
Also, sorry, it was Baghdad (not that it makes a difference, but yeah, I was wrong).
I won't apologize for sharing my views, or for invoking Jay's name, because I know without a shadow of doubt that Jay would stand behind my speaking my feelings 100%.
Whether we agreed or disagreed on things, he was always a great friend to me, and in fact our differences always brought us closer. Do you know how many nights I spent drinking with Jay arguing about the principles of pacifism vs. his more right leaning views?
He challenged my views incessantly, and I challenged his... but always we respected each others' beliefs and our debates only brought us closer as friends.
Jay was a rare kind of person. And I'm certain that he'd be proud to know that I sometimes invoke his name when discussing my beliefs (and the truth, for that matter) about the war, and about other things as well.
Because, whether we saw eye-to-eye or not on certain issues, it was he who always supported me the most, and he would have stepped in front of a bullet to defend my life (he did, incidentally (at least figuratively)), sheerly out of responsibility toward his fellow man.
And that's where Jay and I agree whole-heartedly. We all have a responsibility to each other.
So to know that his legacy continues in the context of free speech and expression, I'm certain Jay would be happy.
But anyway, I am going on. I'm sorry to have upset you with my views, but I can't retract my beliefs or the invocation of one of the biggest heroes in my life in the context of those views when they are so inextricably linked.
Because if not for Bush's (and now Obama's) war, he'd still be with us today.
All the best,
Peace,
Matt