War: When Will We Ever Learn

This entry was inspired by the work of The White Helmets written by Raed Saleh.  It is a heart-breaking story of carnage caused by those who only seek their own power, not that of the people.  See
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/opinion/we-have-tried-every-kind-of-death-possible.html

Where have all the flowers gone?  Gone by scorched earth warfare.

Where have all the young girls gone?  Bombed under rubble like the girl pictured in the article.

Where have all the young men gone?  Shot or bombed by somebody who doesn't like the side to which these young men have gone, often enticed by glory rather than defense of their homes.  Often killed by someone in the sky enticed by those who don't like the people that enticed the young men to war.  Someone who probably goes to a safe barracks with a good warm dinner.

Where have all the graves gone?  Buried under more rubble, certainly not to flowers.

When will we ever learn?

Not very soon:(

Bombs only lead to more bullets

In response to the attacks in Paris, many countries are ready to bomb more ISIS territory even more than they already have.  This may work against standing armies, but will it work against a constant recruiting machine that uses the bombing to show how "Islam is under attack."

Put another way: drone bombers create more drone soldiers.

A much better strategy would be dropping leaflets with Koranic verses of charity and forgiveness.  Just like some "Christians" select verses from the Bible to justify punitive actions against those that disagree with them, there are "Muslims" who select verses from the Koran to justify their punitive actions.  Just like many real Christians select verses from the Bible to lead a life of charity, there are Muslims who select verses from the Koran to lead a life of charity.

What would be the costs of millions of leaflets of Koranic verses of charity versus the costs of hundreds of bombs?  Being bopped on the head by a dropped book may change a lot more minds than being bopped on the head by a dropped bomb.

Citizens or soldiers, which do we want?

Many talk about the National Guard being citizen soldiers.  Unfortunately, many consider those who become soldiers to no longer be citizens.  That is, once a person becomes a soldier that person is to become an automaton, blindly following orders without dissent.

However, if we are to be a democracy, all must question authority, whether in the military or not.

Our history is full of incidents questioning the decisions of those above in the chain of command, from the Revolution to the Philipines takeover to Bradley Manning.  Sometimes it is only because a higher officer has ignored custom; sometimes it is because the generals or the politicians are lying about the purposes or results of a war.

These situations can also show the fallacy of casting issues as conservative or liberal.

See "Revolt in the Ranks: Dissent in the armed forces is a patriotic tradition", Chris Bray, The American Conservative, 2012-06-12, republished in Utne Reader, Nov.-Dec 2012

Some thoughts on the Tuskegee Airmen

Today, George Lucas' "Red Tails" is opening. It is a film about the Tuskegee Airmen, the black pilots in WWII who were cheered by bomber pilots in Europe and jeered by white citizens in the South.

Both the Duluth News Tribune (http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/220474/group/homepage/) and the Star Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/local/137757468.html) have articles on the only surviving Tuskegee Airman living in Minnesota, Joe Gomer.

I know Joe Gomer but I haven't seen him for a while. He and his wife attended the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra Concerts and plays at the UMD Theatre. I don't know if they still do because we stopped going to the DSSO concerts and we switched nights for the UMD Theatre. I do know that many people respect them and would greet them at both events.

We tried to help them at the Duluth Airport a few years ago. They arrived on an incoming flight about the same time my wife did. It was a night that taxis were scarce. I had our Prius and couldn't take them and their luggage with us. So, I drove Joe to his house to get one of their cars. Things didn't work out and so I drove him back. They eventually did get a taxi home. I don't know why I didn't take them and then come back for my wife and her luggage. Hindsight is 20/20.

The Duluth News Tribune article contains information about a proposed statue of Joe Gomer to be displayed at the Duluth Airport. I don't know. I kinda think we're too eager to create monuments in stone or words to a long list of people who are heroes to one group or another.

Roger Ebert wrote a review of "Red Tails". He thinks it is entertaining but could have had more about "the atmosphere of the Jim Crow South". He had a statement that disturbed me two ways:

"In Spike Lee's "Miracle at St. Anna" (2008), which has some of that anger, there is a flashback to a scene of black American soldiers in the Deep South being refused service by a restaurant that does accept Nazis from a nearby POW camp."

One disturbing part is that restaurants would serve German prisoners, but not black American soldiers. But it also disturbs me that so many writers call all German military personnel "Nazis". They weren't; in fact, many hated the Nazis. Watch "Das Boot" or read Carol Bly's "Shelter Half".