We Have Not Earned The Right To Forget

This is one of those times I'm going to be harsh. I'm going to ask you to question yourself. It's not always nice to look into ones self and question what you see. You may be left with doubt. My question to you is 'What will you choose to do about those doubts'??

I found the following article on the Huffington Post. Their take on the article that both they and I will be referring to disgusted me, though I have come to expect no better from these (using the term loosely) 'people'.

Newsweek's "Voices Of The Fallen" A Blip In The Blogosphere Rachel Sklar | Posted Friday March 30, 2007 at 06:41 AM At the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference yesterday, Washington Post Co. chair Don Graham held up the current issue of Newsweek titled "Voices of the Fallen" featuring the words of troops killed in Iraq — their letters, journals and emails sent to wives, sons, daughters, siblings, parents, sweethearts, friends. Said Graham: "I'm holding what I think might be the best issue of Newsweek in the 75 years of the magazine." Four years into the Iraq war, with more American dead now than perished on September 11th and no end to the violence in sight, with "Support our Troops" bumper stickers across the country and new presidential candidates debating how and when to get the hell out, the issue is timely and urgent, the stories every bit as heartbreaking, and even more so in multiple, increasing daily. So where's the pickup? Technorati shows 76 links to the story — barely a blip, especially after almost a week in. Meanwhile, the blogs that did pick it up are hardly big shakers — this one has one inbound link, as does this one, by a woman whose nephew had a poem in the issue. He was killed in Iraq this past summer. This one's got nine, this one's got 25. There's no Little Green Footballs, no Instapundit, no Atrios, no Malkin, no Daily Kos, no ThinkProgress, no Crooks & Liars, no Captain's Quarters, no Power Line, and, yes, no Huffington Post (though the package hit #1 on MSNBC.com, which meant it showed up on ETP via the "Top Stories" widget to the left). All of these blogs have spent plenty of bandwidth arguing for and against the Iraq war, debating what the best move is for the country and for the troops. Bring them home, say some. Honor them and their mission, say others. They don't agree on much, but they do agree that the men and women serving in Iraq are important, and heroic, and should be respected and appreciated. Yet, they gave this issue a miss.

Were they right??

I have to wonder why this is not all over every blogsite too. This is easily one of the most moving and honest tributes I have ever seen.

You can see the article in full at Newsweek. I am warning you, you will need some time and some tissues. Make sure you have plenty of both.

April 2, 2007 Issue - He was exhausted, but he wanted to talk to his daughter, and the only way to do that in Fallujah was to write a letter. "This war is not like the big war—there are no big sweeping maneuvers with hundreds of tanks pouring over the border and so forth," Army Maj. Michael Mundell told his 17-year-old, Erica (nicknamed "Eddie"), on Friday, Oct. 27, 2006. "It's a fight of 10 man squads in the dark, of ambushes and snipers and IEDs. When I go out to fight, it's usually with less than 20 men ... And I go out to fight almost every day." The pace, he admitted, was punishing. "We are weary, Eddie, so very weary. I can't tell you how bone tired I am. There are times when we get back in and ... it is all I can do to drag myself from the truck and stagger up here to take off all the junk I gotta wear ... " His tone briefly brightened as he thought of Erica's life back home, where she was a senior at Meade County High School in Brandenburg, Ky.: "Tell all of your friends and your teachers that I said hello from Fallujah. I am doing well and our battalion is considered the best in the brigade. We are fighting the enemy and hopefully winning, though that is difficult to measure." He signed off with a pledge: "Never forget that your daddy loves you more than anything and that I will be home soon." Mundell could not keep that last promise. At a quarter to 2 on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, he was killed by an IED while on patrol in Fallujah; the casket was closed at his funeral in Kentucky. Never forget that your daddy loves you: As a soldier, husband, father and casualty of war, Michael Mundell is one of at least 3,230 Americans who have died in the struggle for Iraq. He was 47 years old and left behind his wife, Audrey, and four children, all under 18. By itself, Mundell's story is sad but familiar, even predictable. Wars have always made women widows and children orphans. When Mundell was laid to rest in a hillside cemetery in Irvington, Ky., he joined the solemn company of America's fallen warriors—men and women who become objects of veneration, commemorated, in Lincoln's words, as the "honored dead" who "gave the last full measure of devotion." They are garlanded and buried beneath white marble, revered but silenced. Yet they still have stories to tell, stories that bear hearing, and remembering. In letters and journals and e-mails, the war dead live on, their words—urgent, honest, unself-conscious—testament to the realities of combat. What do they have to say to us? This special issue of NEWSWEEK is an attempt to answer that question. We have collected the correspondence of American soldiers at war in Iraq, accounts written not for the public but for those they loved—wives, husbands, children, parents, siblings. Each of the warriors whose words are excerpted here died in the line of duty. Each of their families chose to share their stories with us, and with you. "It's become very important to me that these soldiers and Marines are viewed as individuals with lives, dreams, experiences and families," says Terri Clifton, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Chad Clifton, was killed by a mortar in Anbar province. "They aren't cardboard cutouts in shades of red, white and blue." No matter where one stands on the decision to invade or on the conduct of the conflict over the last four years, the Iraq War is indisputably a curious thing. For the first time in the experience of any living American, we have sent an all-volunteer force overseas to advance our interests for a prolonged period, and virtually nothing has been asked of the vast majority of those who do not have loved ones in the line of fire. The bargain is hardly fair. If we take the president at his word, the men and women of the armed forces are fighting and dying over there so that you and I will not have to face mortal danger over here.

On top of reading this I also watched World Trade Centre yesterday. For those who haven't seen it, the movie is about 2 Port Authourity Policemen who survived the 9/11 attacks. If you feel this might be to sad for you, I'm afraid my response is too bad. Before you put it back on the shelf because it might make you cry ask yourself 'Have I earned the right to forget'??

Do you truly believe you have earned the right to forget the people that died on Sept 11 2001 or October 12th 2002?? Do you think it is ok to forget the victims of 7th July 2005?? Do you think it is ok to let the brave souls who are lost in their efforts to avenge the murder of thousands of innocent civillians fade away, becoming pages on a tribute site nobody cares to visit??

How often do you roll your eyes at the Lefts Protest Marches and Peace Rallies, thinking little more than 'What a bunch of idiots'??

Do you stop, even for a moment, to wonder what these acts are doing to the morale of Soldiers fighting for your freedom?? That's what a Soldier does, they fight, they are injured and they die so that you can work and spend time with your family and enjoy weekends away. So that you have the right to education, freedom of speech and democracy. They put your family and your life above their own. So how do you repay them??

This is not an attack on the Left. I am asking each and every one of you. What do you personally do to ensure these people, both those who have fallen and those who continue the fight are remembered?? I don't care what country you are from, I will make this really easy for you. You only have 2 sides to choose from. There is freedom and democracy - The Coalition Forces. Or there is tyranny and opression - The Insurgency. Simple enough?? Think and think hard. Choose your side well, then ask yourself 'What have I done today to support my side'??

If you find you spend more time supporting your local football team than the people who fight to keep you free, you have alot to answer to. There are over 6000 faces that you need to look into
and see if you can still justify that decision. 3000 are innocents, now over 3000 are those who fought and died for you. Let me tell you, you have NOT earned the right to forget them.

I saw something in that movie that I see often in the day to day life of one who writes for or reads Milblogs. Spirit. I saw brave people who walked amongst the rubble of the World Trade Centre at night, knowing that at any minute it could collapse further and they could be killed. I saw brave people crawl into spaces between the rubble to free the people trapped inside. Each giving a message to be repeated to loved ones if they should die in their efforts to rescue others. This is the same Spirit that those who take the time, see in the Soldiers that fight to avenge those who have died.

So you're over the war?? You're tired of hearing about it?? Try fighting it. Try being separated from your family for months, sometimes years at a time. Try to imagine what it's like to wonder each and every day if it will be your last. Let me tell you, you have NOT earned the right to be over this war.

On 9/11 the Terrorists sent us a wake up call. We are not safe. Nowhere in the world will we be safe until Nations in the heart of these Terrorists continents can deal with their own issues with their own Forces and their own Governments.

If you truly want to see an end to this war support the Soldiers and support your Government. The only way we can leave is when these countries can stand on their own.

A_C