January 14, 2005
Some Thoughts:
...on costs never counted
By Jack GrantI've identified one of the root causes of my recent anger since my return to France from the US.
I have hesitated to post of it, but in the end I am not violating privacy like I feared, and besides, the man in question makes no secret of his problem.
When I returned for my visit to Austin over the recent holidays, I had an opportunity to see one of my best friends, a man who fought in the first Gulf War in 1991, when I was in graduate school. He is a few years younger than me, but he is aging much faster, not in small part due to what he saw, did, and was exposed to in that short, sharp war fourteen years ago.
He suffers from a case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so obvious that I diagnosed it without the help of my DSM IV. A woman who I was dating at the when I first met him eight years ago worked for a couple of psychologists and had picked up quite a bit of expertise in the process; she spotted the syndrome immediately as well. He openly admits the VA has diagnosed him, but he refuses medication or any additional benefits.
When people casually discuss what is currently happening in Iraq, with no apparent thought to the consequences to those we ask to serve in the forces occupying the country, only counting those physically maimed or killed, I get angry.
When people casually say, "Democracy will come to Iraq, the news media is just exaggerating the bad news for their own agenda," I have to wonder, do they know what it is really like to be in fear of losing your life, the rush of adrenaline in the fight or flight reflex with no obvious target to fight or flee? A biochemical time clock that triggered too often creates permanent changes in the brain chemistry.
I do not know these things first hand, but I have indeed seen the consequences.
I am angry for my friend, who was critically wounded, not physically but psychically, 14 years ago. He suffers every day for a cause that was just, but still exacted a price that we do not fully acknowledge.
I am angry for those who are wounded now, not physically but psychically, NOW, for reasons that seem insufficient at best, and due to incompetence rather than a true lack of resources, paying the price of peace of soul because an old man in Washington refuses to see the truth on the ground.
When I was in undergraduate school, there was a Vietnam Veteran who was trying to get his Bachelors of Science in Physics through the same program I was enrolled in. At that time (mid 1980s) he was likely the same age I am now, 40, if not likely a bit younger. He looked like he was in his late 50s, aged far beyond his time. He had problems, too, problems I didn't really comprehend at the time, but after knowing my friend who paid the price in 1991 and every year since, I understand now.
Do those in power who decided upon war and how it is waged, the Rumsfelds, the Ashcrofts, the Gonzaleses, the Bushes, really, truly, ultimately understand the price they are asking of not only hundreds, but thousands and tens of thousands of our best and brightest in our armed forces? Do any of them know personally any close friend who suffers from the effects of what they are asking of our people?
Do those who casually write their weblogs, in the warmth and safety of their family and their homes, truly understand what is going on in Iraq? Do they truly understand the price paid, not only in time away from family and friends, births missed, spouses unsupported, but ultimately the long-term loss of peace of mind?
There are no angels in this abattoir we have helped create, only people, good and brave people we have asked to sacrifice on our behalf because we believe this is the right thing to do, people who are now condemned to a life perpetually diminished from the one they would have otherwise have, even if they are not physically maimed.
Did we really, truly count the cost BEFORE we went into this war of choice?
Do we really, truly understand the cost we are paying now?
Somehow, I suspect not.
World War I had it's "lost generation" of those potential greats who were killed by the hundreds and thousands in the senseless slaughter, a loss recognized and regretted in the span of time since. Who will mourn the multi-generation of those who are not killed in our new, low-casualty wars, but are distanced emotionally from humanity, those walking-wounded ranging in age from 18 to 60+? Who will even recognize the price paid, and our loss?
And in the end, I suspect that the result will not be worth the cost, paid not in lives but instead in souls heedlessly sacrificed with no accounting.
Is there any wonder I am angry?
Posted by Jack Grant at 23:35 on 14 January 2005Not to detract from the loss and suffering of any of those who have served or their families and loved ones, just remember, ours is a volunteer military.
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and their respective reserves are all volunteers. Each one who signs on knows what may be expected of him or her.
We are all familar with the words: "War is Hell." I doubt anyone in his or her right mind would consider this or any other war a cake walk.
Do I personally know what it is like to experience war? Of course, not.
However, while he was not military, my father spent a total of seven years in Vietnam beginning in 1961, immediately after he left Swan Island after Bay of Pigs.
However, I know people, people close to me who have served and, fortunately, lived to tell about it.
The experience has changed each one in ways that words could never describe.
What amazes me the most about this war and some of the people who fight it on our behalf, as well as for this great country, is that despite the hardship and personal suffering, those I have encountered would honorably serve again. They believe in this country, they believe in President Bush, they believe in themselves, and the cause for which they fight.
By the way, I think both President Bush and his father know Bob Dole and John McCain quite well.
I think it's unfair to make the statement:
"Do those in power who decided upon war and how it is waged, the Rumsfelds, the Ashcrofts, the Gonzaleses, the Bushes, really, truly, ultimately understand the price they are asking of not only hundreds, but thousands and tens of thousands of our best and brightest in our armed forces? Do any of them know personally any close friend who suffers from the effects of what they are asking of our people?"
Former President Bush served honorably in World War II. I have no doubt he has witnessed first hand the ravages of war and lost people close to him as a result.
Jack, I am truly sorry for the suffering of your friend, as well as for the nameless thousands who suffer along with him.
Yes, there is a price to pay for war, a very personal price.
It is also the price for freedom.
I believe 9/11 threatened the freedom and democracy of this nation. The world shifted on that day. There is no going back. As Americans we have been called upon to do what needs to be done to protect this country, its citizens, and those ideals and beliefs on which it was founded.
Our forefathers waged war, people died, others were maimed, and still others carried with them the untold mental scars and anguish from that revolution.
It is the nature of man and the price of democracy.
Jack, I must apologize for the length of this comment, I did not intend to get so carried away. In the future, if you would prefer, I'll respond via e-mail. Just let me know. Thanks.
Posted by: Christina at January 15, 2005 02:24 AMAnd what is the price of doing nothing... In every war there are men and women who pay a heavy price to fight. There is no way to compensate them for their sacrifice. And yes I sit here in my nice warm comfortable home... BECAUSE they fight for me. I worry about my son facing those things, his best friends facing those things, being changed by those things, being disabled or dying for those things. I have an uncle who lived with those demons after Iwo Jima... was winning WW2 worth him coming back from war an alcoholic who shunned his family?
But what if we don't fight? What if we let Iraq and the Middle East sit and fester like the open sore it is. What if we hadn't gone into Kuwait back in 91? What if Saddam had taken over there and was now in charge of that entire bit of oil producing land... What if we didn't go into Afghanistan? What if we didn't go into Iraq? What if we just withdrew into our own country? What if we... for the millionth time... said let's talk about this and hope they listen?
I've never been a fan of wishful thinking. I've never figured out why people will think that the leaders of other countries (countries that hate us) would just do things out of the "kindness of their hearts". Why they would attribute kind motives to our enemies when they would never do the same for individuals they despise. Those countries see our ruin as a huge power gain for them. They would be right, but what would be the cost?
So, financially we drown... then what... then millions and millions of people would die. They would die from lack of help we and the western world currently provide, they would die from revolutions that spring up during times like that. Yes, we have those things happening in the world now - but not nearly to the extent it would be if the western world collapsed.
So, in the end there is always that sickening choice to make - the choice that we fight to maintain what we have or we fail and cease to exist. Do I like that we have to put minds and bodies on the line for this? Hell no - I'd rather that the rest of the world would figure out that problems could be solved without trying to overthrow the other guy. But that will never happen in my lifetime. If I could - I would gladly take over the wounds of any one of those soldiers if it meant they could resume a normal life...
Posted by: Teresa at January 15, 2005 02:51 AMWhat's your point? War is just too terrible to fight, no matter what?
YOURS is the attitude that causes war because our enemies see it as weakness.
Posted by: Acidman at January 16, 2005 02:41 PMNo, that is not my point.
Notice I called the 1991 Gulf War from which my friend got his problems a just war.
MY attitude is the one that tries to avoid having people killed and wounded for no good reason.
YOUR attitude appears to be, look at the world quickly, and anything that doesn't exactly align with preconceived ideas, shit all over it.
At least, that's what you've chosen to do this morning.
Posted by: Jack at January 16, 2005 04:16 PM"I'd rather that the rest of the world would figure out that problems could be solved without trying to overthrow the other guy." And that, Teresa, is where the present conflict of Rob and Jack rests. I'd "rather" they both acknowledge that and each give the other the freedom of thought to express his own opinion without rancor from the other.
Posted by: Indigo at January 16, 2005 08:16 PMI am more than willing to give Rob the benefit of the doubt and say that his opinions may be right.
I just don't like being attacked in the way that Rob attacked me.
I'm not going to be juvenile and say "Rob started it", I just try to respond to attacks that I see.
After today, no more responses. I don't have the time nor the patience. Rob is a big-blogger, I'm not. I'll lose no matter what.
I'll say my peace, and if people don't want to read what I have to say, they can go elsewhere. I appreciate those who do read and think about what I have to say, even if they do not agree. That is what democracy is all about, and more than occasionally, some people do convince me to think differently.
Posted by: Jack at January 16, 2005 08:27 PMThe pious arguments justifying this war and comparing it with Gulf War I and Afghanistan are sad in that they represent the views of so many people who voted for Bush. We are all free to think what we want but certainly everyone is not free to say what they want. However, being free to think and say what you want is not license to vacate common sense without consequence. I won't argue the facts that suggest this war is FAR from just. I would suggest that those who believe that it is gather more facts, think a bit more and beyond what you hear from this self-serving administration. Open your minds to the possibility that Bush is not genuinely concerned about freedom for Iraqis and you'll be surprised at what pops into your head. America is not the center of the world and the universe. Think of the consequences of the war on the thinking of people around the world and you'll come to the conclusion that it is a popularity contest. Our culture has succeeded because we represented the good in societies and the potentials of normal people. That is lost now because of Bush and we're not even safer and the Iraqis are not freer because of it. Is questionable that they ever will be.
Posted by: Ron at January 18, 2005 05:49 AM
