When the military went to war, did America go to the mall?

[SSG_Schwartz]

I read this article in my local paper written by a person in the Ft Brag community. She made staements to NPR regarding how those in non-Military communities are reacting to the war in Iraq. Basically, the author, Rebekah Sanderlin, feels that most Americans have forgotten about the war.

I sent her the commentary in early December. Christmas shopping was in full swing everywhere, and the rest of the country seemed totally absorbed with scoring Nintendo Wiis and Elmos.

But in Fayetteville, particularly in military families, the war was never far away. It bothered me that this tiny fraction of the population was carrying the physical, mental and emotional burden for the whole country. The more I thought about it, the more I was compelled to write about it. I wanted to remind the rest of the country that we’re at war.

The basic premise of the commentary is that I don’t think life has changed for the rest of the country as it has for military communities. I hinged it on a phrase I’ve heard several people around here say: “The American military went to war and America went shopping.” To me, that phrase pretty much says it all.

There is a response at this link

“My frustration with your blog is the idea of ‘How can my personal experiences be offensive?’ You are one person with one set of experiences. All of us have our own set, and most of us consider our experiences just as valid as yours. There is no generalization that works here. You can’t say that people who live in military communities feel one way and people who don’t feel another. That is simply not true, and it is poor logic to build an argument upon.”

“I understand where you are coming from completely. I have been in the same sort of situation a number of times. This war has brought military families to the news more than at any other time. People who don’t have someone serving in the military or even know someone serving in the military don’t have a clue!”

So, for those of you who don’t live in military communities, or even those outside the US, do you care about the war, or is it just soemthing to fill the headlines.

I am really interested in opinions, not debates.

Sgt Schwartz

[Zebra]

Actually I got an email from a good friend of mine serving his third tour, in AFGHANISTAN. Remember Afghanistan? Anyone? Anyone?

He commented how, when he was in Iraq, they received so many care packages that it was sometimes a problem to deal with all the boxes, but in Kabul, it’s never a problem.
IMHO, we haven’t forgot about the people serving in Iraq. It is different for people that don’t have somebody who is close to them serving, but that is natural.

[tomndebb]

Well, it is clearly on my mind, a lot, (having to wade through all the GD threads, of course).

On the other hand, I am not sure that the description is wholly accurate. No one in my parish has been wounded or killed, (and, I suspect, there are few guys from my community actually in the military), but references to the sacrifices of our troops are frequent in homilies and the Prayer of the Faithful at Mass and I encounter a fair number of people on the street who worry about the troops. The local Wal*Marts and several of the local groceries have photos of local troops stationed in the Middle East.

There may not be the whole-hearted concern that was displayed fom 1942 through 1945, but there was enough concern to overturn the majorities in both houses of Congress.

[msmith537]

@Sgt Schwartz

So, for those of you who don’t live in military communities, or even those outside the US, do you care about the war, or is it just soemthing to fill the headlines.

I don’t think it’s that people don’t care about the war or the soldiers. It’s more that unless you personally know someone who is in the military or suffered a personal loss, there is a sense of disconnect from the events in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also, there’s no sense of personal hardship. We don’t have to ration or hold air raid drills or black out the city at night. In a sense the Iraq is percieved as less of a “war” and more like an extremely dangerous job like being a cop, fireman or Alaskan crab fisherman that is happening someplace else.

Most of that is due to Bush’s lack of credibility in regards to Iraq. There is not a sense that the soldiers are “defending our freedoms” from some imminent and immediate threat or are fighting for justice for what happened on 9/11. It’s basically a perversion of the patriotism and courage of those who signed up for the military in the hopes of actually protecting America.

[Cheesesteak]

@msmith537

Also, there’s no sense of personal hardship. We don’t have to ration or hold air raid drills or black out the city at night. In a sense the Iraq is percieved as less of a “war” and more like an extremely dangerous job like being a cop, fireman or Alaskan crab fisherman that is happening someplace else.

Not to mention the lack of a draft means that everybody there volunteered to be part of the armed forces. There’s no chance that your 22 year old cousin/brother/nephew is going to get dragged from his job at Starbucks to get himself shot at instead.

[Oy]

I think Ms. Sanderlin is correct in thinking that the rest of us can’t feel what the families and close friends of folks in Iraq are feeling, but I think she is completely unreasonable in expecting us to. The fact is, we can’t have the emotional investment in the welfare of these strangers that we do in those who are close to us. And a good thing, too, because thousands of people die or are seriously injured or ill in the US (let alone the rest of the world) every day; we couldn’t stand it if we felt every incident as we do that of a loved one. Far more people are killed or injured on the roads every day than in Iraq - does she stop her shopping for them? Of course not.

The fact is, between the high pressure propaganda of the current administration and our national collective guilt over the way we treated Viet Nam veterans, we are far more aware of the soldiers’ plights than I believe to be typical. And Zebra’s point is quite valid - in the midst of all our concern for the soldiers in Iraq, those in Afghanistan have been almost forgotten.

It makes me wonder just what she would expect, and again, to ask how much attention she pays to the deaths, illnesses, and injuries of the rest of the nation, including those who also serve the common good - police, firemen, et cetera. If I were her, I’d be looking for a few more mea culpas from those responsible (and that includes the citizens who voted for and pressured their Congress-critters to support this war), and a little less empty sympathy.