I spend a lot of my free time in the park near my home. I also spend a lot of time following the war in Ukraine, our fight for the preservation of our Republic and it’s democratic vaules, and the encroaching fascism (I don’t use that term lightly). Most mornings I take my dog to Prospect Park in Brooklyn and we walk by the lake, I usually stop for a few minutes to pay attention to a unique WWI memorial to the 2,800 Brooklynites that died fighting in WWI that is often dubbed “The Angel of Death”. The image above is taken by me, and depicts the monument, a wounded WWI soldier with broken rifle being folded into the wings of a veiled angel presumably taking him to an afterlife. I’m not religous, but the poignancy of this artwork by Agustus Lukemaan created in 1921 often stops me in my tracks for several reasons, it does not glorify anything about war, it acknoledges that death is part of that horrific process, it expresses comfort and pain, and it lists all 2,800 names of those people who died on Eurupean soil. The same soil trump couldn’t be bothered to put his foot on because it was drizzling rain. Of these 2,800 names, it stood out that many were Jewish, the same group that trump uses as an excuse to take away our rights under the false guise of anti-semitism. (real anti-semitism is delporable but that is not what is happening). War memorials are about the memory of those lost, a somber space to contemplate, and in no way a celebration of war.
This last week I have been thinking more about the memorial because of trump’s proposterous suggestion to rename Veteran’s Day and Memorial day as victory days (he has since backed off, because…. he is a chickenshit at heart). During the lead up to this renaming, trump has decimated the VA, fired excellent officers, put a drunk with no business working as a barista into the most powerful position at the Pentagon, and significantly made it harder for vets to find employment and education. He also is paving the road for his personal use of the military against domestic foes.
Prospect Park WWI memorial BK, NY
When I was 19, I signed up to the army mainly because I wanted to get out of the south and had no other economic means to make that happen. So I went through basic training, moved to specialty training, and shortly after... Iraq attacked Kuwait. Within months I was on the Kuwait/Iraq border as part of the 1st infantry (not a wise business decision). A lot happened, I was not good at war but I bonded with people and carry what I learned with me today. The main aspect being the concept of honor, loyalty, responsibility and a good sense of what is right and wrong. Trump is wrong, how he views everything is wrong, but especially how he views the military. And vets know this, and we all need to speak up more, especially those who have been in combat in the last 35 years. There is no-one, anywhere less qualified to speak for those that have served than trump.
VoteVets elevates the voices of Veterans and military families through progressive legislative policies and electoral endorsements that impact the lives of active service members, Veterans, and the country. And they are a great organization, I encourage all vets to contact them to help, but we need to do more, letter writing campaigns, rallies, legislation (I know, I know, but we need to try), and most importantly, being loud in the face of tyranny. Turn the angel of death on the tyrrants, not the innocent. Members of the armed forces sign up to protect the Constitution, not a king.
