MEMORIAL DAY

I am left empty at the end of this Memorial Day with the continual references to how we are no longer making the mistakes we made in not “welcoming” home Viet Nam veterans, by our supporting the troops in Iraq, even though we know that this war too was politically wrong and immoral.

After all our poor men in green and khaki and blue, or whatever color, have no choice, and they are only protecting us all when they obey the orders of “the government” to march off in lock step and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Goodness knows they are there to protect “us.”

I’m Viet Nam era. I graduated High School in 1967. My High School’s graduating class lost over half of its boys/men in Viet Nam. Viet Nam was a war that was without moral purpose. It was a crime in which the United States supported a dictatorship over a socialist democracy, without provocation…..just because we had to prevent the “commies” from taking a country and setting off international geo-political country-state dominoes. The argument was if we didn’t fight them there, we’d fight them here. “They”, the Viet Cong, kicked our ass, and killed 60,000 plus of us in the process. It was a victory very much analogous to the ragtag army of insurgent terrorists that was the American revolutionary army that kicked the ass of the “undefeatable” British army in the 1770’s.

There were a lot of us who were eligible to be conscripts in that war who chose to risk our futures resisting that criminal war. Some of us went to prison for refusing to be inducted. Some of us emigrated to Canada and other countries to remain free and not be forced to carry out the criminal policies of our nation. Some of us organized into terrorist units and fought against our government’s illegal warfare, fighting in the street and elsewhere. Some of these true patriots are still in prison, and are among the Americans who truly should be remembered today

Viet Nam veterans were victims, especially the majority who were conscripts. Their victimization was secondary or even tertiary to those men, women, and children whom they slaughtered in hundreds of thousands in Indo-China. Because they chose or acquiesced to carry out the war crimes of this nation they were often not welcomed home as heroes. At least they were not prosecuted.

Now we are at war again. Iraq, a country previously ruled by a dictator, was attacked by us without provocation or reason. If we are to make war on all the dictators in the world we need to dramatically expand our already historically huge military. By latest estimate (by credible resources………not the U. S. Government) we have killed (murdered) over 250,000 Iraqi men, women, and children. Once again, we are told that if we don’t fight them there we will fight them in our streets here.

I understand how awful it must be to be uprooted from your family to go murder people and destroy nations who have done nothing to warrant that fate. I understand that you believe that if our political process, no matter how flawed, tells you to go engage in mass extermination it is something we should honor if you are killed. I understand once you enter the military you believe that any responsibility you ever had as a human being ends, and that you are to be honored because you and your family were separated and you were badly paid and equipped as you killed and destroyed.

Hurrah, hurrah, it’s Memorial Day. Let’s honor our troops. They are out there carrying on for “us.” It kind of brings a lump to your throat.

Raheretic (Tom)

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.