When the war began, Spencer (the oldest son) had just turned 13. He was a young teen with lighthearted hopes and dreams. He recently celebrated his 17th birthday. I never would have dreamed that this ugly war would have been going on four years later...with no real end in sight. The war has subtly, and quite boldly, colored his thoughts, his dreams, his future.Attached to the war is a mountain of debt for our country to climb as years go by. Spencer, and his younger brother, Emerson, their friends and others they will never know from their generation--and quite likely their children's generation--will work towards conquering that debt and dealing with the aftermath of war.
I walked into the family room just in time to catch the roll call on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Thank goodness we don't catch the program every day as it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. Beneath the photo of a deceased soldier is their name, age, rank, the division of the Armed Services and the name of the town the person was from.
Tonight I learned that someone named Emerson lost his life. Not my son, but someone else's. It's not a name you see every day, it caught me by surprise and made me catch my breath. Tonight I learned that two men who were 39 and 41 years of age recently died in Iraq. I don't know what hurts more; learning that a young kid of just 19 died in the war or the adult near my age who died and probably left behind a wife and children.Why is this war now in Year 5? When will we collectively rise up and scream "Enough!"?
[Photos courtesy of Creative Commons.]
1 comment:
We, too have lost quite a number of soldiers in Afghanistan. It's hard to know what's a just cause for them fighting is anymore.
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