"The dead person is not a sole,
private family matter. I remember well the way in
which the right wing in thiscountry protested
and resisted the creation of the Vietnam Memorial -
which brought the names of America soldiers back
into the public light of day. The right did not want us - as a nation - to cope with the origins and
terrible consequences of that miserably conceived war."
Yes, they wanted to use them -- to do the usual.
You want to use them too to make your own point.
Awful politics -- lose all sympathy for your cause and
make the lies bandied about by the right wing more
believable. Any sudden awareness of the deaths of all
the others would be completely overshadowed by the
loathings and disgust of the many. Yes, they SHOULD know
what you want them to know but this isn't the way to
enlighten them.
When I was drafted, sometime after the 100th time I
was told that my ass was Uncle Sam's I realized
that the state could do whatever it wanted with me.
Not an unusual insight -- strangely available to
those who encounter state power directly -- to soldiers
as James Jones points out. Thought that after I was dead
I'd be left alone. Took solace in that.
At some point the grave should be a fine
and private place.
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