Our nation is at war.
Every day you turn on the television, there it is. U.S. soldiers hide behind the corner of a corroded Baghdad complex shooting at an endless insurgency. Politicians debate back and forth about the strategies, the costs and the ambiguous progress. Four-star generals and Department of Defense bureaucrats tell us we need more troops, but we don’t need more troops — We will be leaving Iraq soon, but not too soon.
Every day you drive down the highway, you see war. Soccer moms sport yellow magnetic ribbons that read “Support Our Troops” on their minivans. Military parents have “Proud Parent of a Marine” bumper-stickers and Judeo-Christians are sure to have “God Bless America” plastered on their back windows. Of course, there has also been a resurfacing of the “Make Love, Not War” statement on the automobiles of America’s liberal wing.
Regardless of your feelings about the War in Iraq, our president or the military, you must recognize one thing: most of us are not at war.
Most Americans go to work every day thinking about how to pay the bills, where to plan their next vacations, and what they need to pick up at the grocery store that afternoon. We still enjoy a good game of Wolfpack football and Hurricanes hockey. Likewise, we continue to find pleasure at bars, we eat hearty meals at Applebee’s and we shop for the latest gadgets and clothing designs.
Yes, war is far from most of us. We have made no sacrifices and this war rarely crosses our minds. In fact, if we are honest, we have to admit that the Iraq war is at most a soap opera we catch for 20 minutes each night on the evening news.
This is the first major American war in which the people of our country have remained completely unengaged. But times were once different.
In the American Revolution, citizens risked their own security and stability to depose a suppressing monarchy. In the Civil War, brothers fought brothers and homes were turned into makeshift hospitals and supply warehouses. The Americans of the World-War-II era planted victory gardens, sent their women to the mechanical war effort and created aid packages for their beleaguered allies.
Even the unpopular Vietnam War — which has been compared with the current situation — engaged Americans through protests, song lyrics and political consequences. Just ask Edwin Starr about his song “War” or read why Lyndon B. Johnson did not run for President again in 1968.
Today we find ourselves disillusioned, uncertain, or half-committed to the war of our generation. According to the AP, as of Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006, at least 2,759 members of the U.S. military have died since we invaded Iraq in March 2003. This war has taken family members who can never be replaced. Also, this war has cost our nation more than $334 billion over the past 3 and a half years. Imagine how much we could have improved our schools, enhanced our healthcare or secured our borders with that tax money.
With this enormous cost, we have seen some benefits. Saddam Hussein, a brutal dictator and threat to the world, has been removed from power. Iraq now has a prime minister and a government. The citizens of this once-totalitarian country now attempt to put aside their religious sectarian battles and work together toward stability.
The cost-benefit analysis is surely debatable. Are we winning? Are we slowly being defeated? Do we know the truth? Does our government even know the truth?
Wars are complex struggles with difficult decisions. We, as the citizens of America, allowed our Congress to vote for the War in Iraq. Therefore, we also have a duty to be engaged in this struggle.
Turn off MTV and “Grey’s Anatomy” and read the newspapers or watch CSPAN instead. While shopping at the mall, talk about this war and ask the hard questions. Support football tailgating at Carter-Finley and support those uniformed soldiers who cannot be there to celebrate in it. Make the war in Iraq a classroom discussion and vote on Election Day.
Our nation is at war, but most of our people are at play. The America of today does not know the sacrifice or pain of war.
How can we continue to live in this false reality?