Support Our Troops!

Thoughts on Pearl Harbor Day…

Support?

Of course, I do support them,
and I fly the flag
of this nation every day.
I also still believe
in the basic principles
this nation was founded on,
the pillars of strength
of the Constitution,
the ideals of freedom,
the unalienable rights,
for which so many had to struggle
so hard… and for so long,
to obtain and secure!
The guarantees of freedom
had to be fought for
over and over again,
within and without!
And this challenge
is never ending!
I also still believe
that this is a country
of caring and compassion!

Alas…
and here is
the supreme irony,
here’s the rub…

Those who sent
these young men and women
into harm’s way
have had all along
a ulterior motivation
to secure primarily
the rights and privileges
of the wealthy,
the mighty and powerful,
to secure the interests
of powerful corporations,
for the near exclusive benefit
of its owners and stockholders.
They callously conceived of
and conveyed ways and means
to mislead, to confound,
and confuse the public.
They alleged
patriotic reasons and necessities
were at stake.
They alleged that the security
of this nation was imperiled,
at immediate and direct risk.
Yes, terrorists and vandals
had managed to undermine and undercut
our sense of safety.
They managed to make us vulnerable.
Yes, indeed, they caused
great harm and suffering,
death and destruction.
Retribution appeared to be justified.
However, the venue of war
and its targets
were subsequently changed.

Some of those who had sent
our young fighting men and women
into “the theatre” of war,
had publicly stated
and professed
their utter disdain
and contempt for
the Constitution,
calling it a mere
“damned scrap of paper!”
Those who sent
these young men and women
into bloody combat,
had contrived to outsource jobs,
so that enlistment
in the armed services
was one of the only options
for “jobs” available to be had,
promising more
than they intended
ultimately to deliver.

Those who sent these
unafraid young men and women
into harm’s way,
failed to provide them
with adequate weapons
and other reliable equipment
which was the best
and which would not fail.
They did not provide them
with bullet-proof vests,
so their families
had to try to do it on their own.
Those who sent them off publicly
with bands playing,
fanfares and trumpets blarring
and with flags
and battalion banners flying,
conspired to keep it “private,”
when coffins and body bags
with the remains of fallen warriors
were returned by stealth
in the dead of night,
out of sight of the media…

Those who sent them off
with boisterously loud proclamations,
and with the rhetoric of convenience,
then cowardly voted to curtail and cut
the benefits of veterans.
Care for the wounded
was found to be lacking
in quality, in the maintenance
of proper facilities,
complying with demands
of sanitation and safety,
and more…
A sordid saga of
neglect and negligence!

Care of the shell-shocked
and the seriously traumatized
was superficial or non-existent.
The numbers of veterans
who return from combat
with deeply embedded
serious psychological damage
and seemingly permanent
emotional trauma,
is increasing,
and so is the rate of suicide
(even before deployment),
and so is the rate at which veterans
commit acts of violence
directed against spouses
and others.

Many of these young men and women
who were marched off to war,
are filled with anger
and frustration.
They sense the inconsistency
between rhetoric and reality.
They also cannot find jobs
which would pay a living wage.
Drug and alcohol abuse,
as a ready “refuge”
from despondency and loneliness
is on the increase.
Many veterans are destitute
and homeless.
Justifiably, they feel
a profound sense of betrayal!
Are these also
to be called
and termed as mere
“collateral damage,”
in the rhetoric of clever convenience
of politicians without conscience!?

I am just wondering!

War is hell!
God does not make war!
Why appeal to God?
It is man who makes war!
It is man who is responsible!
Man sends his own
to kill or be killed,
to be wounded,
to be marked and maimed
for life…
allegedly for the defense
of freedom!?
I long to be convinced!

Now then,
where is the real
and ultimate proof of heroism
of those who cause wars,
and who perpetuate conflicts,
for their convenience,
for their profit and benefit?
Where are these liars and lunatics?
Hiding in coushy comfort, of course,
in their fortified bunkers,
in their gated and guarded communities,
hiding behind the rhetoric
of rationalization and justification.
I find this to be cowardly,
shameful and fraudulent.
That was and still is
the legacy of lies
of eight years
of lunacy!

These are my thoughts and concerns
on Monday, December 7, 2009

> Gerhard A. Fuerst

Editor’s note: Gerhard is a regular contributor to the Coffee Coaster, and he now has a 16-page part in an anthology just published by Edition Freiberg in Dresden, Germany (ISBN 978-3-9812513-6-4,  October 2009).

The anthology was published to coincide with the 20. Anniversary of “the Fall” (i.e. the dismantling) of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. The book has the title of Die Gedanken sind frei [=Thoughts are Free]. All 32 contributions in the 170-page publication–in the form of poetry, prose, narratives or essays–deal with the theme of life in freedom, what it entails and what it demands. [When an English translation becomes available, the Coffee Coaster will review and post in its book reviews.]