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The Brave, Living and Dead
In this bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln's birth, I recently was re-reading part of Doris Kearns Goodwin's epic history, Team of Rivals. Once again it was stunning to see the number of casualties during the Civil War, the dead and wounded in four years of fighting exponentially outnumbering the American men and women killed and wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan over six and a half years of combat.
On both sides of the Civil War, 618,000 were killed, although some estimate as many as 700,000.
In just the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863 - more than 51,000 dead and wounded. Chickamauga, Georgia, 2 days, September 1863, nearly 35,000. Chancellorsville, Virginia, four days, May 1863, more than 30,000. And on and on.
"The war took young, healthy men and rapidly, often instantly, destroyed them with disease or injury," Drew Gilpin Faust notes in her 2008 book The Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War. "... Loss became commonplace; death was no longer encountered individually; death's threat, its proximity and its actuality became the most widely shared of the war's experiences."
Up until that time, Faust writes, the US Army had neither regular burial details nor grave-registration units. Such duties "seemed always to be an act of improvisation." Often the townspeople in or near a battleground wound up with the task. Many of the enlisted went unidentified, their bodies hastily placed in mass graves for fear of disease.
Contrast that with the painstaking care given each of the dead today when they arrive from Iraq or Afghanistan at the Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, the joint military facility headquartered at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Bodies and personal effects are thoroughly washed and cleansed, dress uniforms are individually tailored for the corpse, even the individual's wristwatch is carefully set to the time at the location where they fell. When each body is ready to leave Dover, all the service personnel at the mortuary stop what they're doing and form a line along the driveway, giving a slow, ceremonial salute as the hearse passes by.
I learned this a few weeks ago, when I happened on the telecast of the HBO made-for-TV movie, Taking Chance, the true story of Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl -- played in the film by Kevin Bacon -- who in 2004 escorted the body of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, killed in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, to its final resting place in Dubois, Wyoming.
I knew about the film but hadn't made plans to watch it. Nonetheless, coming upon it by accident I was totally pulled in by the eloquent simplicity of the script, its attention to detail and lack of melodrama, the poignancy of Strobl and Phelps' stories and the people "they" meet as Lt. Col. Strobl accompanies the body on its final, cross-country journey. (You can continue to see the film through this month, at various times, well worth the fewer than 90 minutes it takes to view. Check the schedule at HBO.com.)
Coincidentally, the film's release came at the same time as the Pentagon's announcement that it was lifting the ban on photographs and videos of bodies arriving at Dover, a proscription that had been in place since the first Gulf War in 1991. A similar renewed openness is taking place as the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs become more candid about suicide and PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder.
Alarmed by the increasing rate of suicide, the Army has begun releasing monthly numbers, in addition to the annual reports produced in the past. 2008 was a record high -- 128 confirmed suicides and 15 under investigation. The rate has been increasing steadily since 2004.
Last month, there were 18 suspected suicides, up from 11 the previous year. In January there were 24, up from five in January 2008. According to the Associated Press, "Usually the vast majority of suspected suicides are eventually confirmed, and if that holds true it would mean that self-inflicted deaths surpassed the 16 combat deaths [in January] reported in all branches of the armed forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations considered part of the global war on terror."
The Army's suicide rate is now exceeding the US civilian rate, for the first time since the military began keeping records in 1980.
"Why do the numbers keep going up?" Army Secretary Peter Geren asked rhetorically at a press conference last month. "We cannot tell you."
Experts say PTSD is a big reason -- the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research estimates that 19 percent of all the troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from it, some 300,000 men and women.
Others point to the high rate of redeployment. According to a new report in the Boston Phoenix newspaper, "With the number of personnel that have served in the two theaters reaching nearly 1.8 million, critics estimate that one-third have served multiple deployments." With that redeployment comes incredible stress and anxiety, not only on the battlefield but back home, where marriages and other relationships collapse from the strain.
This past fall, the Army announced a $50 million, five year joint study of suicide with the National Institute of Mental Health. And this week, the service will be wrapping up a month-long training program to help soldiers recognize suicidal behaviors in their comrades.
But much more needs to be done. "We keep getting studies," Rep. John Murtha, chair of the House defense appropriations committee said at a March 3rd hearing. "That's the problem with the Defense Department -- they study it to death."
What's more, according to an Army Medical Department's 2008 report, 33 percent of the troops in Afghanistan and 21.8 percent in Iraq say when it comes to mental health, their leaders discourage them from seeking help.
That has to stop. We must treat the living as respectfully as we do the dead.
30 Comments so far
Show All"We must treat the living as respectfully as we do the dead."
This entire article is predicated on continuing the wars. Isn't the most respectful thing we can do for "the living," soldiers and civilians alike (not to mention other species), is end the wars? Oh, wait. I forgot. The profit motive with a veneer of ideology is more important.
Amen to your comment FastEddie75!
i think the author would agree w/you. he's focusing on one aspect, but it is always telling when an author, for whatever reason, omits the blatantly obvious: to end suicides/PTSD/domestic violence/etc./etc., end the wars!
winship is part of moyer's journal on pbs, w/all the restrictions and posturing that that requires, so that has something to do w/it.
From the moment a recruit arrives at basic training,the objective is to break them down and mold them into killing machines unaffected by the horrors they inflict on the "enemy" of the moment.
Any mental difficulties a grunt encounters during his/her service is usually ignored and if serious enough,the soldier faces a medical or even dishonorable discharge.All part of the diabolical plans of the for-profit MIC.
I say-close all but a handful of the 170 some overseas US bases,bring ALL the thousands of troops in Japan,Germany, and yes,even Korea;increase the follow-up care with the VA,and announce to the world unequivocally,the US is no longer an imperialist nation-apologies and/or reparations to follow.It's either radical changes like these,or an accelerating decline in living standards of all but the rich-to say nothing of the moral and spiritual consequences for all of us.
And "Old Glory" needs to be relegated to museums,the Rainbow Flag would be a great replacement.
Sioux Rose
Given that killing is unnatural and except perhaps in the most immediate instances of necessary self-defense quasi-sane behavior, it's a wonder that MORE are not killing themselves.
The subtext of this article is that the military is a bona fide organization and how it trains persons a rational enterprise. Sorry to be a broken record, but this type of norm only resonates with the warrior principle signified by Mars. It is AMORAL in a civilized society to honor or lend respect to this dark expression, the lowest, on the totem pole of intended human evolution.
true, s. rose. why are not more killing themselves? but perhaps they are, in quieter ways (alcohol, etc.)
i don't want to defend winship, but i find myself doing so: he's part of pbs, the "public" B.S. it's difficult for him (or moyers) to just come out and say certain things that i think they feel/believe. they cannot say "get the f--- out of iraq now" b/c, er um, certain constituents and taxpayers would go ape shit over that. and adios moyer's journal and winship's job (hanging by a thread anyway.) so these quasi msm commentators focus on the u.s. treatment of returning soldiers and leave it to the reader/viewer to make the more salient observation: if this is the way we treat our own solders, what do you think we are *really* doing in iraq and afghanistan (and elsewhere, e.g., somalia, columbia, and now mexico, which you never hear about)?
last week we saw vets from vietnam marching and demonstrating for medical care they are still waiting to receive - 37 years and counting
how about the first responders on 9/11
dying by the thousands with government and even the city of new york denying benefits and medical care
desert storm vets - forget it
the bonus army - google that and find out how we treated the vets from ww1
to say nothing of the millions and millions of murdered civilians and millions more casualties of our various dust ups including but not limited to iraq afghanistan and pakistan
apparently the bankers, oligarchs and government don't give a shit about them whatsoever
bottom line: if you are morally ok with being a murderer for wall street - best arrange your own health care
and that health care plan should be "army strong"
Killing in self-defense is one thing. Killing for war-profiteers is quite another. All it takes is the sight of one child with his brains blown out to make a soldier question motives and fall into a depression, particularly if he pulled the trigger. No amount of training in how to kill can overcome some atrocities. That's why the Bush War-profiteer in Chief "imbedded" war correspondents, didn't want coffins shown and never visited with the families of dead soldiers. Making troops serve consecutive tours didn't help either.
Troops recently returned from Iraq testified last year (mar. 08) in Maryland as to the monstrous attrocities that they, themselves had taken part in. All were deeply ashamed for what they had done. If one wishes to view these hearings as they took place live go to: "democracynow.org" and scroll down the left side of the page till you come to WINTER SOLDIER, click on and you can view all of lurid details. This event was sponsored by IRAQ VETS AGAINST THE WAR. One soldier could not be in attendance -- his parents were -- he had committed suicide.
FellowCDers,please indulge this tangential question of Siouxrose; I recall from some of your previous posts,some of your personal beliefs. I'm at age 66 searching for a suitable belief system.Being a "lapsed Catholic all the major religions turn me off.IYO,would the Wiccans be a possibility for an eco-minded progressive? There's a Sanctuary near me here in Madison,their "Priestess is a trained psychotherapist,among other skills.IMO,others on CD might also benefit from your experiences.
RLKlevins,Madison,Wis.
klevins42@hotmail.com
Religions, klever, are doctrines and rules that have evolved to codify "Godspeak," to "summon" the Gods, to control people. Those who head religions are looked upon as though they know something special, but they use the doctrines and the rules. Many of them are haughty, self-centered, love power, and are not very nice people, and ultimately, they really don't have a clue either.
We are breathing, seeing, hearing, tasting, moving our fingers on keyboards ... Why is that? To me, I have the privilege of living life, and this time around in the costume of a human.
Why do we need codified belief systems, when none of us know, even the wisest, how many dimensions, universes, life forms there are, and how it all works through eternity?
Scientists can take a bit of this and a bit of that and perhaps create some kind of cellular life in the laboratory, but they didn't create the bit of this and the bit of that that makes life possible in the first place. Cloning, DNA molecules ... whatever ... that is all secondary. What or whom was the primary source of the original "materials." I don't know.
But what I do know is that I am breathing, and something is witnessing the thinking I do because I know when I am thinking and figuring things out.
If I look at a rose, a bird, the sky, hold earth in my hand, plant some seeds and a few months later I am harvesting peas or beans ... where does that come from? that energy? that life force? those miracles of life?
I talk to the Maker of Trees, the Wind; sometimes I say, “Ram” or "Hey, God, I'm in deep trouble. Help me get through this."
If I ask for help, I get it ... sometimes not in the way I thought it would come at first, but looking back, I realize that it was exactly what I needed to make me deepen, grow as a person, become stronger, more centered, whatever. Sometimes I've asked for help, and it's immediate and the cleverest piece of work I could not have done myself. I don't see any of that as an accident. Sometimes something happens when I haven't asked, and the exquisite timing just blows me away.
I've talked to those who have gone, dropped their flesh, whether human or animal. If you are open to it, there is a response, sometimes right away, sometimes a little later. The form of that response varies, from a particular person's voice you “hear,” hard to describe, but it is that voice; sometimes a presence; sometimes something that happens that is most unusual, and you know, and say, "Wow. Hello."
Most of us have evolved with a sense of what's right, with a conscience ... without being told. Our intuitiveness is a powerful thing, but often it is conditioned away very early by rules and regulations and doctrines by people who believe they are caring for us and setting our feet on the right path and all that.
Messages have been given to us all through human history by messengers, directly, or in books, poems, pictures or songs or whatever. The simplest messages are about love and kindness, and what's within us and that there is no death.
This Intelligence/Energy ... whatever IT IS, is in everything. There is nowhere where IT IS not. IT IS always NOW HERE. I'm breathing. My heart keeps beating steadily and gently.
And that's not faith; that's happening. That's awareness that I am breathing, seeing, hearing, tasting, thinking, watching or knowing that I am thinking ... It's the Witness, the Greater Self /Intelligence that is part of the ONE ...
Some books are enlightening guides; some parts of scripture are lovely and comforting to read; some stories are inspiring. Spiritual not religious talk, by various persons present different facets of the "diamond," but they all relate.
I breathe. I like being alive, even when there's pain or suffering. It's the stuff to master, grow from, and it means I'm doing life, my life. Someday I'll have dropped my fleshly covering. To my understanding, knowledge and experiences, that just means I've made a passage.
We're all at different places. Listen to a child laugh, look deep into a flower and see the intricacy of it; do what you can to do no harm and help make it better for others whenever you can; be involved in this thing we call life ...
If you need a guide, that's another experience ... but deep down we know; it's built in to our systems. If we have a fair amount of intelligence and we examine our belief systems and get rid of the baggage that impedes our awareness, our own sense of what we innately know, we have gained clarity and freedom to be.
The troubles of the world are all about separation and the ego mind that sees itself as separate and better than or sometimes believes itself to be worse than and has to prove in some sick way that it is better than and should have/must have more as part of that proof. And frequently that dulls the original in-the-moment awareness of the child we all once were. [END 1st page]
[Second Page] - klever from c/m:
Pay attention. Be aware of being aware, kever. Take a look at what your beliefs and belief systems are, and whether they serve you, those close to you, the world, the planet. Sometimes psychotherapy is a great help, along with psychology books, even of the lighter self-help variety. There always are a-ha's in them. "Oh, yeah, I remember when I felt that way when that happened." "Oh, yeah, that part sounds like my story, my life." Human soap operas revolve around many similar themes.
"Lapsed Catholic[s]" generally have a hellava' time, klever, because the fear of hell is indoctrinated very early. That's hell. ;-)
Relax. Enjoy breathing. And maybe, in whatever way, contribute what you can to bring change to the lives or future lives of those who wish they were not breathing, had never been born, or wish they were dead. And bring aware changes to your own life.
That's about all we can do. But that's a lot.
peace/relax - It's just one of many trips, klever. Eternity is one endless PLAYground. /cm
Sioux Rose
CEE MIRACLES: A wonderfully poetic and inspired response, I can add nothing to it, apart from a tipping of my virtual hat. Great words! (And they reflect well on the one relating them.)
Sioux Rose, when you said a few months ago that the Palestinians in Gaza were actually giving the world a gift by what they are going through, ... I said, "Ah, kindred soul. She knows."
Nuf' said.
peace - /cm
I do not reply directly to Klever as his question was specifically directed, but I would ask a question if I may. As we are an age I am wondering why you believe that a belief system is necessary to what I presume is a quest for fulfillment?
I do not subscribe to any religion, nor do I put stock in what has been described as " a guy who lives in the sky, demands that we follow ten specific rules or he will damn us to hell for all eternity, but he loves us. Oh yeah and he needs money". I do not really mean to belittle those who have such belief systems but the evidence of history suggest that most of the atrocities committed are done in the name of some deity or other, and much is done to folks who share the same belief system excepting for a small detail or two. Makes no sense to me.
Its called "faith" ole Rick!
"evidence of history suggest that most of the atrocities committed are done in the name of some deity or other, and much is done to folks who share the same belief system excepting for a small detail or two."
Wouldn't that "most" be because "most" people belong to religions rather than because of religion? Just a thought.
When Red Rick says, "Makes no sense to me," and you reply, "It's called faith," I agree: faith makes no sense. Nevertheless, it can cohere and motivate armies, can it not?
FastEddie75
It can "move mountains" so to speak.....
Faith makes perfect sense if you have it, if you don't....well, lets just say not everyone is lucky....
Mornin' Thomas. I'm glad you have faith. I don't feel unluckly without religious faith. I feel liberated, and I am not without comfort or confidence. I'm a bit weak on forgiveness, but not compassion. I'm a little quick to irritation, even anger, but can be corrected. And I do love this life.
So please forgive the occasional caustic post. I noticed your comment elsewhere about the tone of recent threads. My "contributions" are down, too, though it seems the ratio of my cynical, sarcastic posts to my more constructive (hopefully) comments remains about the same. Maybe I am partly compulsive "troll" after all! (Now that I looked up "internet troll," I finally understand the accusation, although, strangely, I don't find it the least bit insulting.)
Cheers.
Morning my friend
Your faith in the fact that there is no God, that you are liberated is as valid and valuable to you as mine is to me. I probably shouldn't have used the word "lucky" because it implies others are wrong when you think about it. I should have said I was lucky because I was sure. You could say the same.
My comment about the tone and content of posts are concerning the course phrasing, corse words, unproven theories declared valid and proven, intolerance, racist comments accusing others of racism, in the main childish and inexperienced comments, especially about events or things they clearly know nothing about. The insistence on ideology Uber Alles!
I was not speaking of you. By the way, I've noticed that the folks that throw Troll around are usually the folks that are the most intolerent of any but the approved opinion of the week.
Good day to you.
Thanks for the very thoughtful reply. I did not take the post on tone/content personally; rather, it made me reflect on the value of my own contributions, and in my own assessment, well, let's just say some are better than others and leave it as it is! The fact that there are a number of thoughtful correspondents to this site keeps me checking in.
Regards.
Kind words. Thanks for your consideration.
Hi Thomas, havent read you around of late.
My comment cited by you was meant to imply that atrocities were committed directly because of religious beliefs and not that those committing them were coincidentally religious.
As to faith, Ive got plenty, I have faith in my fellow human beings, though that faith is sometimes sorely tested. I have faith in the concept that, if I do the right thing, the act will be its own reward, and not that I must do it because if I dont I will go to some place called Hades or conversely that I will be rewarded by going straight to some place called heaven when I die.
I am certain that Torquemada had much faith, as I assume did your namesake in fact. Would you condone the actions of those two zealots?
Howdy Old Son!
I've been making an effort to restrain and read. Keep comments to a minimum for a bit. There has been, shall we say....a lot of less than cordial, less than intelligent posting by a rather callow group lately. An increase of commenting on things that the poster obviously knows nada about(something some would attribute to me of course).
"My comment cited by you was meant to imply that atrocities were committed directly because of religious beliefs and not that those committing them were coincidentally religious."
I knew what you meant, I was just being ignorant! Besides I'm sure I'll see you in Heaven when we both die and we can discuss it further.
"I am certain that Torquemada had much faith, as I assume did your namesake in fact. Would you condone the actions of those two zealots?"
Nope, though I'm not sure Torquemada had a lot of faith, but look how he ended up anyway. And Henry lopped my namesake....so I'd say zealots and fanatics are bad no matter the side or cause.
"atrocities were committed directly because of religious beliefs"
No, because of the manipulation of these beliefs by "leaders".
Wars are almost always fought for resources, be it gold, oil, land, water.
The warmongers twist religion to convince good people that doing bad things to other good people is some god's will.
"Snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead."
--James Joyce, "The Dead"
"... We WILL DO A FAIR AMOUNT OF KILLING.
We are building an information-based military to do that killing."
cited from: U.S. MAJOR RALPH PETERS, "Constant Conflict," published in "Parameters" (Summer 1997), pp. 4-14, emphasis mine.
Cee Miracles;
I'm truly touched by your words.Thank you.
I do have the unexpected support of a love from 48 years ago-she's been helping me greatly in my transition,which also involves what might have been a problematic rebound from 2 years of depression.
A book recommendation-"The Unquiet Mind",author is a bi=polar shrink. Beautifully written and filled with great humor.
Thanks to everyone for their responses-IMO,one of CD's better threads.
Thank you, klever.
You might like to check out Neale Donald Walsch's books: Conversations with God. Book I & Book II are such a relief to read. He was a Catholic for most of his life, and then some time around 50 years old he asked some questions. When the answers came, he was on his way. Any book store will have these books, and available from Amazon, which would have reviews if you would like to check them out.
Also I constantly recommend to everyone or give as gifts when I can afford to, Dr. Carolyn Myss's ENERGY ANATOMY - a 6-tape set that, for me, is the best description of the spiritual journey I've ever had the privilege to come across. She, also a Catholic who may or may not be "lapsed," is wryly funny, intense, wise, and down to earth, but a medical intuitive. Her revelatory teachings are about the path of the Spiritual Journey and how it is encoded in our physical beings. One day she realized that all the Great Religions have the "codes" that match the Journey, spiritual and physical, e.g., The 7 Sacraments; The Kabalistic Tree of Life, etc. Available on www.soundstrue.com. I probably have listened 30 times and always there is something new as I grow and hear more deeply. And it all makes perfect sense.
peace to you, klever, as you find your way HOME. /cm
"The Army's suicide rate is now exceeding the US civilian rate, for the first time since the military began keeping records in 1980."
This is why I cried - really cried - when I realized the US was going to start another war-of-conquest. The human carnage, I knew, would be unimaginable. That was some 8 years ago - and I did a lot of crying over those first few years. But now I am all out of tears. It's just too hard to feel sorry for people who are dyed-in-the-wool masochists. And although I do feel sorry for the Afghanis and Iraqis who were the victims of this heinous assault, it's hard for me to understand why they didn't fight back, right from the start, with everything they had - even if it was just bricks and pitchforks. The loss of life would have been high - but I doubt if it would have reached the proportions evident today. Better to 'nip it in the bud' - die on your feet - rather than leave your country unfit for your children, or even your grandchildren, to inherit.
I don't expect Americans to figure this out - but I'm afraid their children will learn a very hard lesson. Freedom isn't free. The real enemy isn't far away in some distant land - the real enemy is right here in your own back yard. The real 'enemy' are the sociopaths - psychopaths - who are out to destroy EVERY society, including their own. We've had 30+ years of rule by such paranoid delusional psychopaths - and they are still in control. There is no future without social responsibility - and that means we must all consider what we are doing to promote a healthy society. That's called 'socialism' - and it is NOT the opposite of 'capitalism' - it is the necessary partner for progress. This isn't an 'either-or' equation - and that's where Americans have been making a fatal mistake for a very long time. We cannot raise ourselves by stepping on others - we have to raise all boats, or we all sink. We have to denounce the fascists - the corporatists, militarists, monopolists - as the 'enemy' of mankind. Because that's exactly what they are - the destruction they spread around the world is also killing all of us at home. The chickens always come home to roost.