(Goran Tomasevic/Reuters) |
FREEDOM DAY: NOT MANY WERE CELEBRATING
Yesterday, April 9, was Freedom Day in Iraq commemorating the third anniversary of the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue in Firdos Square in Baghdad( the fall of Baghdad).
Freedom Day(yesterday) was marked by violence; at least 5 car bombings in Baghdad killed 3 people
and wounded several. Mayheim and violence are still the order of the day in Iraq three years later.
Many Iraqis think they are worse off today than before the fall of the Hussein regime. Others say they are thankful Saddam and his regime were ousted and know freedom comes at a cost and are willing to pay the cost for that freedom; we can only hope and pray; the sooner the Iraqi government and people can get their act together, the sooner our troops can get back home.
(AFP/Sabah Arar) |
Freedom Day in the US came and went without much fanfare not unlike it did in Iraq. No protests against the war like the old Vietnam style protests( whether the ones during the Nam war did any good or not).
And, from what I read, the few protests that were held didn't get much attention and very few young people showed up or had any interest it seems. Why? Simply, kids, like most adults, don't have any vested interest in the war in Iraq. It really is not affecting them.
Life goes on; and, since there's no draft, America's young people don't have to think about service to country. So why get excited?There's a war. But who cares? Someone else is doing the fighting. What is the big deal?
In some ways, activism has not waned. From various reports, students are getting involved in Teach America, there's been a resurgence in the Peace Corps, and many high school and college students went to help in New Orleans after Katrina. Maybe, it is just the idea of an abstract war going on somewhere else- a war not really affecting anyone other than those fighting or their families.
DEPRIVING YOUNGSTERS OF A CHANCE TO SERVE
Without a draft or any sort of Universal Service, kids, by in large, don't have any incentive to serve. I talk to parents of kids who are draft eligible with great regularity; and rarely do I talk to any parent who has considered military service for their child.
These parents are not to be blamed; the country is to be blamed. The gutless and self-serving politicians who are willing to let America's working class youngsters put themselves in harm's way are the major culprits.
(AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg, File) |
I understand guys like Cheney not supporting universal service or a draft. He had "other priorities" during Vietnam. We were probably better off without Dick in Vietnam. The guy shot a buddy hunting; no telling what he might have done at war.
But, there is no excuse for men like Senators John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Hagel and former Secretary of State, Colin Powell. They are all Vietnam veterans who have seen young men die in combat. They, of all people, should have been able to put aside politics and demand that all Americans make a sacrifice. If fighting in Iraq is truly a fight against terrorism, it is a fight for all Americans, not just for those willing to serve.
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