There have been many diaries and comments posted in the last few weeks about the release of shocking pictures showing the abuse of prisoners of war at the hands of United States soldiers, and the president's refusal to release these pictures to the media.
Arguments for each side make sense.
Yes, releasing these pictures would be devastating to the victims and their families, and yes, it could put our soldiers at greater risk.
It is true that hiding these pictures from Americans allows us to hide behind our rose-colored glasses and refuse to accept what we have done to these people with this ill-thought war. We need to see these images to remember and never forget that war has consequences. I'm not so sure...
I grew up with this picture. It was shown over and over and over again so we could never forget that fighting communism wasn't just about "getting Charlie" but was also about naked children running screaming from Napalm.
I don't want the pictures released. I realize that is selfish and stupid and ignorant. But I do not want my sons to grow up with these pictures. I don't believe we learn from our past mistakes or that seeing these pictures will stop future wars. We have become entrenched in ignorance in this country and wrap it around ourselves like a cozy blanket.
I have clear memories of people standing in my kitchen explaining to me that the Iraq war was a good thing. That it was necessary. That we had to do it and it wasn't another Vietnam. A google search of "Iraq is Not Vietnam" brings up numerous articles from the entire span of the Iraq war claiming this is not another Vietnam. It is worse.
It is worse because of Vietnam. Because we fought a war like Vietnam with no winner and only losers. We had memories of that and still launched this war. We had these pictures and moved forward anyway with "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
As I happily cloak myself in denial and refuse to look at these pictures showing unimaginable atrocities of war, I realize there is no difference between me, afraid to face the truth; and the rest of the country willing to lap up history re-writes like "Vietnam wasn't so bad" or "The New Deal failed" or "Secession is a good thing." Every day another bullshit lie is spewed at us and I watch us fight the good fight here on my computer monitor as "reputable" news outlets repeat garbage.
And tonight, as I write this I realize that they get away with it because people like me do not want to see the truth. We can't handle the truth.