Are They Forgotten?
I suppose in a way this is a shameless blog promotion.
But it’s not my blog. I only know the author of the blog as a very new social networking contact.
I say the author, but she’s really more of an editor than an author in this case.
You see, what she is doing is giving the US Soldiers in Afghanistan an outlet for their voice. Or thus far at least one of them in any case.
Firstly, does anybody remember that Afghanistan, not Iraq, was the original country American troops were posted in during this “War on Terror?” Yea, it’s true folks; American Forces found themselves being deployed to Afghanistan in 2001, while the initial Iraqi invasion occurred in the Spring of 2003. Why is it, then, that Iraq is the war? Why is it that the first response many of us deployed to Afghanistan get when mentioning our current assignment to friends and family is “Oh well, at least you aren’t in Iraq?“
Have we forgotten these brave men and women who have sacrificed a portion of their lives, if not indeed their life itself, in the interest of our nation?
In many key and central ways we have.
It’s not as interesting as Iraq for many reasons, largely political in nature, but also in some respects cultural. The political reasons behind our neglect are fairly obvious and easy to spot, or at least easy to recognize and admit once pointed out.
But the cultural reasons are telling, and they are the more important reasons. The political can not act against the cultural without accepting grave risk to it’s power structure, so these Men and Women who would defend our “Grand Experiment” can only be politically forgotten once they have been culturally forgotten.
Why have we forgotten them culturally? The biggest reason is that they have not yet captured that man. Now, whether this is because they can not do it, or if it is because that have not been given reign to do it, is another argument for another time. The reason that they have not captured that man are not relevant to the cultural effect of the fact that they have not.
In the US it is no longer enough to prevail. You must prevail soon. You must prevail before something else comes along that we can wrap or fears and hopes, our needs and generosity in. if Iraq rolls around before you capture that man, well, culturally you lose. Especially if Iraq provides us with more divisive language to use against each other than your “forgotten little war” did.
So, have we forgotten these men and women? More importantly, can we recover our memory of them? Must they become numbers in a distant history book? These proud brave representatives of our Shining City on a Hill?
Above my computer I have five objects on the wall. One is a picture of Diane, who is the most beautiful woman in my world. Two others are pictures of K’tala and of Devan, my children who have taught me things I would never have guessed were there to be known.
The last two things are the Stars and Stripes and a large black banner with a white profile and the Words “You Are Not Forgotten” and “POW/MIA”. A slogan from another era, but no less important today, if for slightly different reasons than it ever was. We must never forget those who never came home from that war, and we must not forget those who fight this one for us.
I would like to urge you to go right now and visit “A Soldiers Voice” at http://soldiersvoice.wordpress.com/
Post a comment and let the Soldiers fighting the forgotten war know that we have not forgotten.
Please feel free, or even better, compelled to copy this article in it’s entirety and post it wherever you would post it. Please do not credit me, just link to the voice of a soldier who needs to know you have not forgotten him.
http://soldiersvoice.wordpress.com/
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