Wants and Needs

While writing an e-mail to my brother in Afghanistan I mentioned two things that inadvertently tied in together.
The drought here in Florida and a NY Times article he linked on Facebook titled, "Why would any soldier miss war."

I read the article earlier while drinking coffee in my air conditioned home on my lap top while being, oh, so comfortable in my robe. There are a lot of good takeaways in the NY Time piece. What I got from it is this- We as Americans bear very little costs of the war other than financial. People are dying and many of them are innocent.  The author, Sebastian Junger writes that soldiers compartmentalize war to remain healthy and he knowingly writes about our country,

   "We avoid any direct look at the reality of war. And both sides of the political spectrum indulge in this; liberals tend to be scandalized that war can be tremendously alluring to young men, and conservatives rarely acknowledge that war kills far more innocent people than guilty ones. Soldiers understand both of these things but don’t know how to talk about them when met with blank stares from friends and family back home."


He also writes "If society were willing to acknowledge the very real horrors of war — even a just war, as I believe some are — then men like Brendan would not have to struggle with the gap between their world view and ours." We do not want to see the horrors of war so we compartmentalize it and file it away. Maybe never to be looked at or reexamined. The soldiers need us to step up and acknowledge  what is happening and has happened.  They make sacrifices in the name of our country yet we make no sacrifices for them. Junger suggests a monument to the innocent killed in the wars. Is that enough? We make few sacrifices now. The leadership in Washington is not making any personal sacrifices that I can see. 


It all goes back to wants and needs. Here is the example that may be easier to understand. We live in SW Florida. Golf capital of the world. We have had drought conditions and though it is rainy season we will need a tropical event to fill the aquifers. Even though we have low aquifers and it is rainy season people are watering lawns.  Golf courses are in full swing. Everything is lush and green year round- even during the dry season. Or should I say especially during the dry season. 
Does everyone know the aquifers are low and we are negatively impacting the environment? Sure. But why look at ways to fix it or cut back on consumption more than may be comfortable when we can just keep watering til the aquifer dries up. Compartmentalized thinking. Same thing different negative outcome. After all why should someone have a brown lawn and a full aquifer of drinking water?


We all have things we want but what we want is not a necessity. Does everyone want a green lawn. Sure. Is a green lawn necessary for our survival. No.
We may want a new car but that does not make it necessary should we already own a car that is a few years old but still runs. The sign of maturity is ignoring what you want and focusing on only what is necessary. Are name brands great? Sure. Do I need them to be a whole happy person? No. So about the war. Does anyone want to make personal sacrifices? No. Do we really need to make changes to aid our soldiers in coming back into society? Yes. 


We don't have to like war and we can do many things to keep the soldiers in the war from being forgotten and compartmentalized.  Talk about it- a lot- to everyone. If you don't like the war and don't want to support a soldier- fine. Get off your butt and go protest then. But do something. I am writing about it to spread the word. The full article link is below.
   
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/opinion/sunday/17junger.html
      

Changing Perspectives

The United States is engaged in conflicts in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not a discussion of right and wrong this is just a short post on having friends and family serving in the combat zone.

After high school I joined the Marine Corps and did my time in the United States. I joined knowing we were not at war and that if we did engage in war that as a female my chances to go into a combat arena were slim at best. (I was a Reagan Era Marine). My younger brother joined the Army and spent roughly 13 years in Special Forces. He got out after he was involved in the initial incursion into Afghanistan and I was grateful to know he was finally safe. From that point my only contact with the war has been when PBS shows the photos of the soldiers who have been killed serving in the Middle East or stories on the news.

Recently, we have had several soldiers from the area where we live killed in combat. Their pictures have been in the papers and on the news so it is closer to home.  So here is the deal - It is so easy for us to forget people are dying every day on foreign soil. Politically, I honestly don't care which political party started the war. Someone needs to put on the big boy pants and take a long hard look at the number of people dying, say we are responsible and figure out how to bring it to it's conclusion.  As in end it.

Why do I care enough to write now? My brother left yesterday to fly helicopters on a government contract. Right about now he is in the Middle East and heading to Afghanistan. He had a choice in his deployment- our soldiers do not. Many of them serve as a way out of poverty and high unemployment, some from a sense of duty tho their country and many because college is simply not an option. They are not  the ones making the decisions on where to go and who to fight. People in suits in D.C. who are not in the war theater are determining the fate of the American Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen. We can sit in our comfortable homes, not making any sacrifices while they are sacrificing the comforts of home for at best a cot in a sandy tent, family time for the loneliness of a desolate foreign country and our very little thought about peace of mind for incoming bullets and i.e.d.'s.

I debated if this post should go up as the blog is just starting up and alienating people is not my goal. I decided to post because people need to remember. Politically, we do not have to agree on who to blame or why. As a country we are divided on so many levels. From time to time everyone needs to stop and think about something from a different perspective. Mine has definitely changed from the time when the conflicts began.

So forget the who and why and think about the men and women serving overseas and their families at home. If you know someone with a family member reach out to them. If they have very little funds ( and low ranking soldiers families have very little) offer help through prepaid phone cards or gift cards to grocery stores. You can offer to babysit for a weary wife on her own or ask about sending care packages. The U.S.O. works hard to give soldiers in combat a taste of home and they are always accepting donations. If finances hold you back from any of the above then simply tell them you appreciate their service. If you see a soldier in an airport thank them for serving.

 Simple acts reach a long way.