Comments on: On absence http://polizeros.com/2007/04/14/on-absence/ Musings on politics: anti-war, global warming, peak oil and otherwise Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:34:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: dj http://polizeros.com/2007/04/14/on-absence/comment-page-1/#comment-132797 dj Sat, 14 Apr 2007 13:38:12 +0000 http://polizeros.com/2007/04/14/on-absence/#comment-132797 "Fate makes demands of flesh and blood. And what does it demand most? Flesh and Blood." --Russian proverb. "Forward he cried from the rear, and the front rank died." --Pink Floyd. "Some folks inherit star spangled eyes-- Ooh, they send you down to war, and when you ask them, "How much should we give?" They only answer More! more! more!" --Creedence Clearwater Revival Our local guard unit is the 222, which spent a lengthy time in Iraq. When one of them gets killed, all of the flags in town-- even at Home Depot-- goes to half mast. The county is rightly proud of their service. OTOH I have seen war myself, for a short time and not in a military capacity, and I wholeheartedly agree that war changes you. Even after my short exposure, I have never been the same. The best way to ensure that some yo-yo doesn't send your kids off to war is to make sure their kids have an equal chance of going. That means a draft-- and not one where the fortunate sons get a pass, but one with real teeth. As long as the men making the decisions (and yes, they are all men) do not take the risk, they'll be sending cannon fodder anywhere it suits them (or is profitable). “Fate makes demands of flesh and blood. And what does it demand most? Flesh and Blood.” –Russian proverb.
“Forward he cried from the rear, and the front rank died.” –Pink Floyd.
“Some folks inherit star spangled eyes– Ooh, they send you down to war, and when you ask them, “How much should we give?” They only answer More! more! more!” –Creedence Clearwater Revival

Our local guard unit is the 222, which spent a lengthy time in Iraq. When one of them gets killed, all of the flags in town– even at Home Depot– goes to half mast. The county is rightly proud of their service.

OTOH I have seen war myself, for a short time and not in a military capacity, and I wholeheartedly agree that war changes you. Even after my short exposure, I have never been the same.

The best way to ensure that some yo-yo doesn’t send your kids off to war is to make sure their kids have an equal chance of going. That means a draft– and not one where the fortunate sons get a pass, but one with real teeth. As long as the men making the decisions (and yes, they are all men) do not take the risk, they’ll be sending cannon fodder anywhere it suits them (or is profitable).

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