Today I received the book you sent me,
Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq. I wish I could say thank you for this gift, which I assume was in acknowledgement of the donation I sent you. But I wish I had never seen it.
Not that it isn't a beautifully compiled book, what with those compelling pictures, stories and quotes from soldiers injured in Iraq.
Thank you anyway, but I'm already grieving inside quite enough. I began grieving as soon as I saw the bombs exploding over Baghdad back in March, 2003, and I haven't stopped. I'm grieving for our soldiers, who remind me of the firefighters I met here in NYC after 9/11 - completely dedicated, at a potentially horrible price. I'm grieving for the innocent Iraqi families, for whom our current government has offered freedom only through irresponsible violence. And I'm grieving for - but also angry, outraged at - those who would equate reasoned, considered dissent with disloyalty or even treason, either because they don't trust their own minds or because they are so willing to manipulate others'.
Just as important, I'm more than fed up with the media, politicians, and their entourages who see all of the death, injury and destruction as just another factoid to be spun and counterspun for political gain or even as some form of perverse entertainment for the pundits. From the bleatings over whether it was "disrespectful" to show unidentifiable military coffins to the ghoulish speculation over who "benefits" from the re-emergence of a mass murderer, the substance is lost in the sound bites.... And it's demoralizing that even the honorable, the sincere, the progressive have to play along.
Wars are a fact of the human experience; we all know that. Purple Hearts powerfully memorializes some of the sacrifices. Groups like Operation Truth -- as you seek to remind us "up close and personal" of the reality of war and to make us honestly assess when it's warranted - should not have to be screaming to have your message heard. After November 2, I can only hope that you won't have to be asking me for a donation again.
Very truly yours,