Posted on 06/05/2002 5:59:53 PM PDT by vannrox
June 5, 2002 BY CINDY RICHARDS
'Mommy, why are the lights on that building in red, white and blue?'' asked my 6-year-old. "Is it that thing in July?"
"No, sweetie," I said, "It's not the Fourth of July. The lights are red, white and blue because we're at war."
As the words tumbled out of my mouth, I stopped abruptly, looked at my husband and said: "It feels strange to even say those words, doesn't it? It certainly doesn't feel like we're at war."
And how could it? The sun was shining brightly as we headed home from a family barbecue with full bellies, worn-out kids and soothed souls. This can't be what war is like. Certainly, if we were at war, we wouldn't be going about our lives as though nothing was happening. We'd be home collecting used toothpaste tubes and rationing our sugar, right?
Then, along came the Sunday morning papers.
The headline carried an ominous warning delivered by President Bush to a cheering crowd of West Point graduates: We will take the war to the enemy.
That report was followed by the latest news on the tense standoff between nuclear rivals Pakistan and India. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says, correctly, that no sane individual would allow tensions between the two countries to escalate to nuclear war. He stops short of pledging not to drop the bomb.
While the rest of the world seems to be spiraling out of control, we sit around our nicely groomed backyards and talk of more pleasant things. Then we hear our president telling the troops that "this government and the American people are on watch. We are ready . . ."
But are we ready? Are we even aware that there's a war going on? When it has so little effect on our everyday lives, how can we be?
Stanley Shafar, a World War II vet and my father-in-law, worries about our general lack of engagement in this war.
During World War II, "Everybody knew there was a war. Everybody talked about it. Everybody was personally touched," he said.
Whether it was the inconvenience of gas shortages or the intense pain of a losing a loved one to the fighting, everyone felt some personal connection to the war. Even the Vietnam War touched home in a way that this war does not. Nearly everyone knew someone who had been drafted, or who feared being drafted or who was protesting the draft. We watched the fighting each night on the news.
But this war on terror is so, well, un-warlike.
From the first moments, our president sought our help. He exhorted us to go forth and spend. Defending America meant proving our economy could take a hit and come back strong. Buying everything from socks to stocks was the way to support this war effort.
In other words, just keep doing what we Americans do best.
For a time, we bought flags to fly from our homes and cars. We wore T-shirts proclaiming our love for America. And we talked tough. Now this whole war thing is getting old. We've been warned of further attacks, but none has materialized. We've watched as politicians took the low road in their search for a political benefit from war.
Bush warned this would be a long battle that would require patience. It's a tough sell to a generation with a short attention span.
My father-in-law says we in the media must shoulder much of the blame for helping Americans move so quickly beyond the horror we felt on Sept. 11.
"We haven't sacrificed a thing. How do we feel today, compared with 9/12--not 9/11, but 9/12?" he said. "On 9/12, we said 'Oh my gosh, what's going to happen?' Today, we don't feel it at all."
We are left to wonder, then: How will this new reality of war--the un-warlike war--play itself out over time? Must average Americans feel the pain if we are to continue supporting the war effort? Or have we reached a point where we can wage war without average Americans noticing? If so, is that a place we really want to be?
E-mail: cindyrichards@ameritech.net
Is U.S. losing its fight?
I worry about my friends up in our counterpart office in New York. They saw the whole thing - people jumping off the roof, the building crumbling.
The war has just begun for a lot of us.
I didn't have a relative (that I know about) die, I didn't know anyone personally, I am not a resident of any state where there was a crash.
I am an American who has not and will not forget our nation was attacked by a murderous, beastly enemy. These animals don't deserve to breathe the same air as civilized human beings, and I want them all dead. NOW.
The writer has a point about it not feeling "war-like". We've only felt the "sting", nationwide, of one attack.
The President and his subordinates have been warning us about the viciousness of this enemy, though. When, not if, they say. I hate that, but I also remember this administration is a truthful one. We are at war. We will have more homeland casualties. Let us pray for our nation, our leaders, our men and women in uniform, and our fellow citizens. And let us turn to Him while we also take heed to our surroundings.
And never forget 9/11. Never.
But this war on terror is so, well, un-warlike.
That's because, so far, it's a little war. It doesn't involve all that many troops, so few people are touched by it that way. It has sort of fallen off the media radar so to speak, so you don't hear about a big battle every day or two. Fundamentally the existance of the US is not at stake, so the tension isnt' as high. The US as we know it, may be at stake, but that's a more subtle thing.
That's because of the Special Operations troops. The "real" special operations troops are the Special Forces soldiers who initially went into battle. These guys are truly the "Quiet Professionals". They don't need a lot of hoop-la to advertise who they are like a lot of other units. They just get the job done and quietly fade away.
They distain the media. Historically, the media has given them a bad rap. The true SF soldier will shrink from giving information to the media unless directly ordered. They don't need the exposure as some do to advertise their "stature" among combat soldiers..
Just be proud and feel comfort that those brave soldiers are out in the hinterlands fighting for the people of this nation.
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