Last time I ranted--and raved--I was recommended and front paged--so here is my Memorial Day angst. All fallen soldiers are not heroes--some are even villains. Those my age remember My Lai in Vietnam. That was not an isolated incident--carnage has gone on in all wars--today, in Iraq and Afghanistan. BTW, these "bad" soldiers can hide behind temporary insanity pleas--their training and their "superiors" prodded them on.
Let's go back to histories of past wars--were German SS soldiers heroes in Germany? Yes. Do they deserve that accolade? No. How about American generals who were aware of the concentration camps and decided the supply line trains were not military targets. Before some of you reply that concentration camps were unknown until liberation, let me explain. My cousin emigrated from Austria in 1939--was threatened with deportation--ended up a defense department scientist--invented better scopes--met with generals--told them about the camps. They already knew--they were not heroes either.
How about the Civil War--were Confederate soldiers heroes--or dupes? Were they protecting citizens, or slavery? Was Sherman a hero when he burned down homes? Yes, war is ugly, and bad is sometimes necessary, and therefore, war needs to be unusual. Back to Sherman--those Southern homes were still considered by him to be American--heroism is in the eye of the beholder--and to many citizens, Sherman was the devil.
How about WWII? Was Truman a hero for ordering the dropping of TWO atom bombs? Were the pilots and scientists heroes by virtue of killing a half million people--mostly innocents? All combatants in WWI and WWII had poison gas--all felt threatened--the Axis knew it was losing--yet few, if any, ordered the use of said poison. Those non orders were heroic--Truman is villainous. Before we leave this topic--following orders is no defense against mass murder--don't think it is for one minute. Heroes step back--refuse to disobey that higher authority--the conscience.
Obama has continued the stupid wars in Iraqistan--after acknowledging that Iraq was not involved in 9/11--and after assassinating OBL. He is not a hero. He continues to order the drones that kill innocents---refusing to even publicly admit their use in Pakistan. BTW--the locals will hate us forever--the new Crusaders. Barack is not a hero--and I am ashamed to be his defender.
Memorial Day is a time to remember that most of the soldiers are duped--made insane by training and extreme patriotism. The system of rewarding officers for the most destruction tells you why I rant--why I spent my whole life avoiding the Vietnam War--why I worked in the slums of NYC for 37 years. Money --and more importantly--lives--wasted could have been used to make us better. But then, Halliburton would have less profits.... Stop wars, liberate our own citizens. Welcome immigrants--they are the future us. That will be my next rant.