The Last Post of War … class
“But nothing happens. I just scan. And think. And think. And think. Too much time to think.”*
What is happening to our war, our culture clash, and our gung-ho Americana kick-ass attitude?? Where are the headlines? Where are the victories, where are the defeats? Hell, where are the battles?
Battles are not suicide bombers blowing the crap out of pedestrian places. Battles are not roadside bombs exploding on 1 out of every 15 hummers that passes by. Battles are not soldiers sitting in guard towers with nothing to do except pray that nothing bad happens to them.
The major difference I see between the books of war we have been reading and the war right now, is that there is no war! Why does it seem that all of the books, The Things We Carried, Fallen Angels, Vera Britain, they all are moving for an accomplishment of something. They have protagonists and antagonists, they know who the enemy is, there is a PURPOSE even if it is wrong, and they still know what they are there to do.
So what are we in Iraq for? “To liberate a nation from the tyranny of a dictator, and promote freedom and democracy around the world.” Come on! There are sooo many horrible dictators around the world, why did we choose Iraq? What are our boys dying everyday over there for?
ASSUMING that this war will be over in 10 years, and so far that’s a hefty assumption to make, what books will be written about the Iraq war? What will future generations say about our military operations? We have books about World War II, which was the allied forces against the Nazi’s. We have books about Vietnam, which was a huge American tragedy where far too many young soldiers died. What will our story be? Will we have an Iraq War memorial in Washington D.C.? Will this be the forgotten war, the war that no one wants to talk about? How will this war be remembered?
Perhaps another question will be, how should this war be reflected upon? Do we take all of the soldier’s blogs we have been reading and compile them into one giant database? Do we make movies based on the stories, or are we going to have thousands of books written about the Iraq war?
This is my final post, so it’s mostly an analysis of everything I have read and written about. The symbolism, the heroisms, the death and destruction, somehow, it all seems so familiar. The human race will inevitably find itself in conflict with itself, and people will express themselves through literature, film, and other mediums. I can only hope we learn from the past, instead of repeating it.
***I have to send a shout out to The Usual Suspect. You keep it real, you tell it like it is, and I have the utmost respect for you. I greatly enjoyed reading your posts, and will continue to do so. Stay safe Suspect…
