thedrifter
07-17-07, 07:32 AM
Published July 17, 2007
'Senselessness' may have been on minds of many brave soldiers
Stephen Daume, this is for you and your fellow troops.
As an older guy, born at the outset of WWII, I have seen many brave young men and women like you go off to fight wars in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq - as well as other theatres of operations like Granada and Mogadishu.
You and others like you have, indeed, "Š placed myself (yourself) and my (your) men between my country and those who would wish to do her harm to defend freedom and the American way of Life."
From the bottom of my heart, which is Southern-speak for sincerely, I thank you for your sacrifice.
Staff Sgt. Daume, you state, "I bear the cost of freedom proudlyŠ" You and others like you, bravely, both do and have. For that I am grateful. Hopefully we will not squander what you have purchased.
It would be vain to say that I can help you "Šmake sense of the senselessnessŠ," except to note that those thoughts were, no doubt, with the patriots in the eight year War of Independence, the soldiers at Gettysburg, the one million plus American soldiers at the Battle of the Argonne Forest and Marines being devoured by machine gun fire on the beaches of Iwo Jima and Tarawa - all sites of great suffering and death.
Sometimes, stating "senselessness" is mental gymnastics, a way of dealing with the sheer madness of the Kaisers or Hitlers or Saddam Husseins who were responsible for so many deaths that the sheer weight of their numbers can only find definition as senselessness.
"Senseless" also defines the vicious terrorists in Beirut, Lebanon that killed 220 Marines, or the USS Cole's slain sailors or the September 11 massacre of 3,000 innocent men, women and children. How can any of that be sensible in any sense?
That is not to say that the mass murderers did not have motives, however malignant, but their motives are so far removed from the reality of the average, normal person that they can only be described, adequately, as senselessness.
Sometimes stating "senselessness" is a way of dealing with the frustration of something that is protracted beyond all expectations - as the war in Iraq - that appears to be something that is not reasonable to either continue or discontinue, with loss guaranteed with continuing and even greater loss to come, both there and here, if discontinued.
Only history seems, ultimately, to be able to make sense of current senselessness. Trite one-liners like "It's the oil" and "It's politics as usual," as you likely know, do not give reason to the horrors that you and other troops experience.
We are often, when unable to make sense of torrents of conflicting sources of information, driven to the point where we have to simply trust someone.
As a military man, I would trust my Commander-in-Chief above the New York Times. As a civilian I choose to trust my President above those who have less information for decision-making and whose motives are not as trustworthy, at least to me.
"So no matter how frustrating the fight in Iraq can be, no matter how much we wish the war was over, the security of our country depends directly on the outcome of Iraq. The price of giving up there would be paid in American lives for years to come. ... Success in Iraq would bring something powerful and new - a democracy at the heart of the Middle East, a nation that fights terrorists instead of harboring them, and a powerful example for others of the power of liberty to overcome an ideology of hate."
- President George W. Bush, April 20, 2007
Perhaps I have almost wandered too far away from the original intent of this letter to return to it, but my basic purpose is to say to you, Stephen Daume, that you are appreciated. Your sacrifice and the sacrifices of your comrades were not in vain.
Thank you, again, from a grateful American.
Ellie
'Senselessness' may have been on minds of many brave soldiers
Stephen Daume, this is for you and your fellow troops.
As an older guy, born at the outset of WWII, I have seen many brave young men and women like you go off to fight wars in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq - as well as other theatres of operations like Granada and Mogadishu.
You and others like you have, indeed, "Š placed myself (yourself) and my (your) men between my country and those who would wish to do her harm to defend freedom and the American way of Life."
From the bottom of my heart, which is Southern-speak for sincerely, I thank you for your sacrifice.
Staff Sgt. Daume, you state, "I bear the cost of freedom proudlyŠ" You and others like you, bravely, both do and have. For that I am grateful. Hopefully we will not squander what you have purchased.
It would be vain to say that I can help you "Šmake sense of the senselessnessŠ," except to note that those thoughts were, no doubt, with the patriots in the eight year War of Independence, the soldiers at Gettysburg, the one million plus American soldiers at the Battle of the Argonne Forest and Marines being devoured by machine gun fire on the beaches of Iwo Jima and Tarawa - all sites of great suffering and death.
Sometimes, stating "senselessness" is mental gymnastics, a way of dealing with the sheer madness of the Kaisers or Hitlers or Saddam Husseins who were responsible for so many deaths that the sheer weight of their numbers can only find definition as senselessness.
"Senseless" also defines the vicious terrorists in Beirut, Lebanon that killed 220 Marines, or the USS Cole's slain sailors or the September 11 massacre of 3,000 innocent men, women and children. How can any of that be sensible in any sense?
That is not to say that the mass murderers did not have motives, however malignant, but their motives are so far removed from the reality of the average, normal person that they can only be described, adequately, as senselessness.
Sometimes stating "senselessness" is a way of dealing with the frustration of something that is protracted beyond all expectations - as the war in Iraq - that appears to be something that is not reasonable to either continue or discontinue, with loss guaranteed with continuing and even greater loss to come, both there and here, if discontinued.
Only history seems, ultimately, to be able to make sense of current senselessness. Trite one-liners like "It's the oil" and "It's politics as usual," as you likely know, do not give reason to the horrors that you and other troops experience.
We are often, when unable to make sense of torrents of conflicting sources of information, driven to the point where we have to simply trust someone.
As a military man, I would trust my Commander-in-Chief above the New York Times. As a civilian I choose to trust my President above those who have less information for decision-making and whose motives are not as trustworthy, at least to me.
"So no matter how frustrating the fight in Iraq can be, no matter how much we wish the war was over, the security of our country depends directly on the outcome of Iraq. The price of giving up there would be paid in American lives for years to come. ... Success in Iraq would bring something powerful and new - a democracy at the heart of the Middle East, a nation that fights terrorists instead of harboring them, and a powerful example for others of the power of liberty to overcome an ideology of hate."
- President George W. Bush, April 20, 2007
Perhaps I have almost wandered too far away from the original intent of this letter to return to it, but my basic purpose is to say to you, Stephen Daume, that you are appreciated. Your sacrifice and the sacrifices of your comrades were not in vain.
Thank you, again, from a grateful American.
Ellie