"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"

I grew up during the '50's and came of age during the '60's. I like to think of myself as a flower child - you know, peace and love, and all that. I was against the Viet Nam war--sorry, they called it a police action, but it was a war for my generation. I protested the mandatory draft, the government that instituted it, and the fact that we really had no choice but to go. OK, there were a couple of other choices; stay in college or dodge the draft and leave the country. Earn a degree to avoid it? No problem, good for you. A very few were allowed Conscientious Objector status and that was ok with me, because they went through a lot to earn that status and quite frankly, I cannot kill things myself. Ok, mosquitoes and roaches, yeah, but nothing else, and I can understand that status.

But, leave the United States to dodge the draft? Then you willingly gave up your citizenship and your right to our freedoms that were earned with the blood of those who fought for and believed in them, and the right to return to said freedoms when the fighting was done. I never did agree with the blanket amnesty given to draft dodgers, allowing them to return to freedoms they had refused to defend, with no consequences. I know many will deny, ridicule and hate me for that belief, but that is my choice and their beliefs are not really my problem. I watched my older brother, an Uncle, some cousins and many of my friends go to that war. Some came back to us, some never came home and some did not make it back intact, whether physically or mentally. I may have hated that war but I could never hate the guys who had to go fight it. They went. They fought. They were Americans and patriots, even when they did not understand why they were going or what, exactly, they were fighting for. I now have a nephew and his wife in the Navy defending our freedoms, and I am so very, very proud of them and their willingness to put themselves in the front lines and allow me continued freedom. But I do not like the politicians and warmongers who have put them there, for these people are giving nothing of their lives to send our troops out to fight other countries wars. Yes, I believe we should defend America and American's first. That does make me an Isolationist and I am also aware that is only a small proportion of the public and one not very well liked. But I still have that freedom that so many have fought and died for, to believe that.

Long intro to lead you to a truly awesome writer. There was a song by Edwin Starr and a saying during the Viet Nam war, "War, what is is good for?" The response, of course, is "Absolutely nothing." This concept was explored and explained by Jim Wright in a truly moving post. For the moment http://www.stonekettle.com/ is off-line because of a shameful theft of Jim Wright's work, but the article that is still up should be read. I think he is one hell of a fine writer and the theft needs to be understood from Mr. Wright's point of view. And while you are at it, about a third of the way down the page are legitimate links to the post stolen. It is most definitely worth reading...and from a legitimate site, not a stolen one. I can only hope it touches you as it did me.

love and light,
kathleen