The American people have almost no say in making war. Our mass protests can't help end a foolish war. The HIDDEN PERSUADERS have conditioned us to say THANK YOU to any guy who claims he is a returning combat soldier. But do we not know just WHAT we are thanking him for?
What if his (or her) SERVICE was a rather dishonorable participation in war crimes? We read every day about troubled veterans– struggling with mental illness, jobless, homeless. Could it be that human nature just rebels against being part of a KILLING MACHINE– no matter how PROUD, how BRAVE?
All those sleepless nights are a tell-tale heart. Nightmares of evil deeds? Even Hollywood recognizes the awful truth now and then with popular movies like "Born on the Fourth of July". The real hero of that movie, Ron Kovic, is still an anti-war activist.
War is not a function of human nature. It is a function of our ruling class. Can an old lady here in the Rhode Island– about to have her heat shut off in freezing winter– seriously believe that the U.S. military just wants to protect HER from wicked terrorists living in holes in the Iraqi desert? Can homeless people here believe that THEY are greatly threatened by ISIS?
If you are a now jobless homeowner, will ISIS agents come to repossess your HOUSE? If you are very sick and without health insurance, will ISIS agents deny you access to a room in a hospital? If you are drowning in bills, will ISIS agents come here to garnish your wages?
True ISIS has cruelly executed Americans on their soil. But our own states have TORTURED and EXECUTED many more American prisoners sentenced to death (they could not afford a good lawyer)
So just THINK before you say THANK YOU to the returning combat soldier.
A look of ordinary human compassion is quite enough!
Submitted to: letters@providencejournal.com
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| Ron Kovic's memoir "Born on the Fourth of July" became a 1989 Academy Award winning film of the same name co-written by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic, starring Tom Cruise as Kovic. |
What if his (or her) SERVICE was a rather dishonorable participation in war crimes? We read every day about troubled veterans– struggling with mental illness, jobless, homeless. Could it be that human nature just rebels against being part of a KILLING MACHINE– no matter how PROUD, how BRAVE?
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| Ron Kovic at an anti-war rally in Los Angeles, California in 2007. Kovic, born July 4,1946 is a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. |
War is not a function of human nature. It is a function of our ruling class. Can an old lady here in the Rhode Island– about to have her heat shut off in freezing winter– seriously believe that the U.S. military just wants to protect HER from wicked terrorists living in holes in the Iraqi desert? Can homeless people here believe that THEY are greatly threatened by ISIS?
If you are a now jobless homeowner, will ISIS agents come to repossess your HOUSE? If you are very sick and without health insurance, will ISIS agents deny you access to a room in a hospital? If you are drowning in bills, will ISIS agents come here to garnish your wages?
True ISIS has cruelly executed Americans on their soil. But our own states have TORTURED and EXECUTED many more American prisoners sentenced to death (they could not afford a good lawyer)
So just THINK before you say THANK YOU to the returning combat soldier.
A look of ordinary human compassion is quite enough!
Submitted to: letters@providencejournal.com
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Ron