November 07, 2003
War by Remote
I heard about Ben's death on Monday--I spent half the day looking at images of him in Baghdad--and the other half trying to get authorization to fly on an AMC flight to Iraq the next day. In the end, it was impossible to get to Baghdad on short notice.
You know what overwhelms most soldiers in Baghdad? The sense that they have just become numbers. That they are forgotten by a disinterested public that too often chooses to turn the channel to more comfortable realities.
We've become a nation of sunshine patriots. We "pull together" after events like 9/11, and then rapidly disperse to our couches and reality shows. It's become far to easy to turn the channel--the remote control has become the shining symbol of our democracy. The war has become, for many, simply entertainment. A reality show of sorts--it won't be long before a savvy producer gives cameras to soldiers so we can "experience" their reality 24/7 from the comfort of our homes.
After Ben Colgan died, a friend said to me, "Thank God it's a volunteer army." As if volunteers died easier. I felt sick to my stomach, because she didn't see the point. You always hear, "They signed up for it," as a rationalization for loss. The war in Iraq is far from WWII or even Vietnam. A tiny sliver of society is fighting a war while the rest of the country watches. For or against, we are not all "in this together". We live in two separate realities. It's easy for us to choose to not care, because most of us will never be touched by war.
For me, right now,the war is the only story--a story that needs to be brought home.
