10.28.2005
Waste
I was in something of a reverie yesterday at one of the public computers at school. It was the day that the 2000th soldier was killed in Iraq and I was reading the saddest article about a few of the people who had died and their families. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped, realizing all of the sudden that tears had gathered in the corners of my eyes and the tip of my nose was turning pink.
Whenever I read those articles about people my age and younger dying in Iraq, I always feel so heartbroken and so helpless. I think back to the days leading up to the war, when we were protesting in the streets in Chicago. I felt powerful then, and I felt like I was right when I joined the chorus of voices saying it would be a waste of resources, a waste of blood, a monstrous debacle. As dissidents, we have been proven right a thousand times over, yet there is no satisfaction in it. Then, I thought that one good thing about the war maybe could be that it would lead to the downfall of its architects; but now, even that would be the hollowest of victories in the face of this shameful, dreadful waste of lives.
Whenever I read those articles about people my age and younger dying in Iraq, I always feel so heartbroken and so helpless. I think back to the days leading up to the war, when we were protesting in the streets in Chicago. I felt powerful then, and I felt like I was right when I joined the chorus of voices saying it would be a waste of resources, a waste of blood, a monstrous debacle. As dissidents, we have been proven right a thousand times over, yet there is no satisfaction in it. Then, I thought that one good thing about the war maybe could be that it would lead to the downfall of its architects; but now, even that would be the hollowest of victories in the face of this shameful, dreadful waste of lives.
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I too weep when I see those pages of pictures in the Post. I weep for you and for your brother, and for all those parents whose sons and daughters will never come home. And for the women and children of Iraq and Afghanistan. Or I turn quickly past the news of war so I won't have to weep. And past the news of the latest indignity this inept and morally corrupt Administration has inflicted, so I won't be overwhelmed with anger. And past the news of hurricanes, floods, landslides and drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge, because it hurts to see the world ravaged by selfish people with no thought of the future. And past the stories of troglodyte school boards imposing fundamentalist religious views in biology classrooms, because their arrogance and willful ignorance infuriates me. I'm proud that you are taking on these battles. I am ashamed of my own inaction. I contribute money to the organizations that are active in the causes I care about, but I haven't yet changed the way I live, as you are seeking to. You inspire me that there is hope. Your generation holds the fate of our country and our world in your hands. Take good care of it. Seize it now from the failed boomers and cherish and repair what we have left.
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