Hell is other people. So's heaven though

[charliesmum]

camwyn posted a really brilliant entry about good and evil and what it actually entails, and it made me think of this poem by Terry Anderson. Terry Anderson was a hostage in Iran (or Iraq, I honestly can't remember. I'll have to go check) and while he was there he would create poems in his head to keep himself sane and pass the time. Whenever they let him, he would scribble down what he wrote. He was freed, and teaches somewhere now, I think, and I believe his poems are published somewhere. Anyway, I remember reading this poem, Satan in Writer's Digest magazine, and it honestly moved me. It is a really powerful and loving piece.

This war really seemed to be making itself known to me today. First, while at the hairdresser's waiting for Charlie to get his hair cut, (he looks adorable by the way) I read this article in a magazine that contained final emails from a handful of female soldiers who were killed in Iraq. Not something I expected to find in Glamour Magazine, let me tell you.

Then, when we were in line to see Santa today, I noticed this sign that said that families of active service-people got a discount, and I thought, 'My God, I'm living in war time.'

The thing is, I was born during Vietnam, and grew up thinking that that was the last war. People seemed to get the idea that war wasn't a noble endeavor, thanks to Vietnam. The TV shows I grew up with had very anti-war sentiments, should the subject ever come up, and when I was a child I really thought war couldn't happen again. Naturally as I grew up I learned differently, but the few 'skirmishes' that happened as I was growing up - Grenada, Faulklands, the first Gulf War, were all over before we at home really noticed too much of a change. No one had to use food rationing or dig victory gardens. Now I see those star flags in people's windows, articles about dead servicewomen are showing up in fashion magazines, and there doesn't seem to be any end to this war in sight.

I know I'm not being terribly fair to George Bush, but the little 'film at eleven' commercial on the telly today said something about him going to the Army/Navy game and visiting vets, or something, and I honestly wanted to scream, because I know he's going to talk about them being heroes, and doing their duty to God and country and making Iraq a safe place for democracy or whatever, and I just wonder if he honestly, honestly understands that, because of his administration's decision, hundreds and hundreds of people are not coming home this holiday season, and never will again, and even those who survive will be forever changed because their duty led them kill other people. People that they might have gotten along with if circumstances were different.

War isn't hell. War is worse than hell because at least in hell there is hope for redemption.

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[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

silly over-the-top sky-high-rating TV wrestling That'd be cool. Actually the 80's band Frankie Goes to Hollywood had a video that had a Regan and er, whoever the Russian leader was at the time (sorry, it's late and I can't think) lookalikes wrestling for their 'Two Tribes' song.