{"id":828,"date":"2016-05-29T16:52:29","date_gmt":"2016-05-29T20:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/?p=828"},"modified":"2016-06-15T17:39:30","modified_gmt":"2016-06-15T21:39:30","slug":"a-meditation-on-this-memorial-day-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/blog\/2016\/05\/29\/a-meditation-on-this-memorial-day-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"A Meditation on this Memorial Day Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Greetings and Salutations;<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 I have been poking around online, and, on the cable channels this weekend, \u00a0 and contemplating the state of the World in general, \u00a0and America in specific. \u00a0 It is, I am sorry to say, not a very pretty picture \u00a0I see before me. \u00a0 \u00a0We are now in at least year 15 of our entanglement in the Middle East. \u00a0 While technology – in the form of the drone program – had cut back on the number of American casualties, \u00a0the war is still killing and maiming too many people, \u00a0both innocents and combatants.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I look back to the time, some 77 years or so ago, \u00a0when the World was caught up in the madness of World War Two. \u00a0Considering that World War 1 was called “The War to End All Wars”, \u00a0 the fact that over 100 million combatants were caught up in a conflict that split the political allegiances of the countries into two, opposing camps, \u00a0 changed the motto of World War 1 from a fervent wish to a sad irony. \u00a0 Not only did World War 2 leave deep and lasting scars on the citizens of many countries, \u00a0it was the only time in the history of Mankind that nuclear weapons were used by one country against another. \u00a0 No matter whether one holds the view that this was the best thing to do, or was totally wrong, \u00a0it did happen and is part of our heritage.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 World War 2 also saw one of the most widespread abrogation of the Constitutional Rights of a group of citizens that has happened in the history of the country. \u00a0 As most of us may have heard of by now, \u00a0thanks to George Takei’s play Allegiance,<\/a> \u00a0 tens of thousands of Japanese Americans were rounded up and confined to internment camps for no other reason than they were not White Americans, \u00a0and looked like the enemy. \u00a0\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0is an article that discusses the situation, and includes many, contemporary images. \u00a0 \u00a0 However, \u00a0the Japanese Americans were not the only group so treated. \u00a0 \u00a0A large percentage of the German American population in \"internees.ellisisland.jpg\"America was subject to the same treatment. \u00a0 In some cases, though, \u00a0these citizens were deported to Germany or other countries. \u00a0 \u00a0At the end of the War \u00a0these German Americans were also required to sign a non-disclosure promise, \u00a0where the penalty for talking about ANY of their experiences would be immediate deportation. \u00a0\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0is a good article about THAT side of the equation. \u00a0 In spite of these massive attacks on the Constitutional Rights of these citizens, \u00a0 many of them enlisted and fought bravely for America. \u00a0 \u00a0 Thanks to the executive order that allowed the FBI and Military to sweep up anyone they wanted, without an recourse from the Law of the land, \u00a0these people lost everything that they had worked for their entire lives, \u00a0preserving only that which they could pack up and take with them. \u00a0 After their release, \u00a0not only did they have to face the challenges of starting over from scratch, \u00a0but, \u00a0they had emotional scars that, in some cases, \u00a0were never healed.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In 1945, \u00a0 not more than a year after the end of World War 2, \u00a0the first American soldier was killed in Vietnam. \u00a0 The French had been in Vietnam from before 1939, \u00a0but had finally come to their senses, \u00a0and pulled out in the early 1940s. \u00a0 America, thanks to the Cold War concept of the Domino Theory, \u00a0 dove right in, and stayed there for 30 years. \u00a0 The Domino Theory, which for all y’all that slept through history class, \u00a0said that we had to prop up South Vietnam, \u00a0because if it fell to North Vietnam (and the Russians), \u00a0 then, \u00a0Cambodia, \u00a0Thailand and the various other countries in the area would be taken over by Russia also, and before we knew what would be happening, \u00a0 we would have Russian troops on our doorstep. \u00a0 \u00a0This proved to be\u00a0 nonsense, and, while the South East Asia was a nightmare for decades, \u00a0 none of the projected outcomes of the Domino Theory or the Cold Warriors came to pass. \u00a0 \u00a0We lost 50,000+ young men and women\u00a0 in that war, and many times that number were left with physical and emotional scars that are still destroying their lives today. \u00a0 \u00a0For a variety of reasons, \u00a0 American soldiers engaged in some of the worst destruction of human rights that we had ever done. \u00a0 \u00a0There were soldiers who wiped out villages of men, women and children, \u00a0simply because they looked Vietnamese, not because they had attacked the soldiers. \u00a0 To add to the complications of the time, \u00a0 America was going through some serious, political uproar and changes in Society during this time. \u00a0The 50s brought us the rebellion in music, personified by Elvis Priestley and others. \u00a0 The 60s brought us the general rebellion against the traditions of society \u00a0with the Hippie movement. \u00a0 The sad thing was that too many of us did not understand that there was a difference between the Government, and the Soldiers, \u00a0so, often, when the boys would return from the Hell of South East Asia, \u00a0they would be spat at, and called “Baby Killers”. \u00a0 This “welcome” and the fact that therapy remains today to be nearly impossible to get are some of the\u00a0 factors that that cause there to be\u00a0 far too many Vietnam Veterans living on the street, \u00a0as well as\u00a0 killing themselves.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Our excursion into the Middle East has, alas, \u00a0not been the success that America’s leaders thought it would be. \u00a0 \u00a0Our actions there have caused the death and maiming of millions of citizens of the countries involved. \u00a0 Our casualty list is short, \u00a0in that we have had under 8,000 fatalities, \u00a0and a total of around 57,500 killed and maimed. \u00a0 Technology has made a huge difference for us. \u00a0 \u00a0America went into Iraq based on a lie – the existence of an active Weapons of Mass Destruction program – \u00a0and after overthrowing the government, \u00a0stayed there as an occupying force for years. \u00a0 Much the same issue happened with Afghanistan, \u00a0except this excuse was to capture or kill\u00a0Osama Bin Laden<\/a>, \u00a0who was \u00a0allegedly using the country as a refuge. \u00a0Again, \u00a0American troops went in, \u00a0generally destroyed the government and the infrastructure of the country and stayed for nearly a decade. \u00a0 \u00a0The result of this has been a region thrown into chaos, \u00a0 with several groups contending for power, \u00a0many, many civilians being killed. \u00a0 The worst thing about this madness is that it has fueled a high-end terrorist group called Daesh, \u00a0who is trying to unify the area into a totalitarian state, \u00a0using fear and murder as their main tools. \u00a0This group also is reaching out and encouraging bombings and shootings in various countries around the world.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Now…that all having been said, \u00a0 you may be wondering why I am wallowing in this ugly history of America. \u00a0 The answer is fairly simple:<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This is one section of Arlington Cemetery, \u00a0the final resting place of too many brave Americans, \u00a0of all races and \u00a0religions, \u00a0 who, when their Country called them, \u00a0answered that call and gave all on the battle field, \u00a0 fighting to protect the rights we are granted by the Constitution. \u00a0 \u00a0If you have never visited Arlington, \u00a0or, one of the many other Veteran’s cemeteries spotted around the country, \u00a0I urge you to do so. \u00a0 Go there. \u00a0Walk among the tombstones, and contemplate the sacrifice of these brave men and women.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\"homeless-vet-sleeping-600x400.jpg\" \u00a0 \u00a0 Then, \u00a0look at the society you live in now. \u00a0 Look at the growth of hate for folks that do not look like you. \u00a0 Look at the reports, on a daily basis, of police who kill an unarmed citizen who is not resisting them, and, in many cases is already restrained. \u00a0 \u00a0Look at the next homeless person you pass on the street. \u00a0There is an excellent chance that he is a veteran<\/div>\n
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Now, take a moment to look at the Race for President this year. \u00a0 The Republicans have presented a candidate who is a chicken-hawk, \u00a0who has expressed a willingness to use nuclear weapons, and to torture prisoners of war in order to extract information from them, and, claims to have raised millions of dollars for Veteran’s groups, yet has only distributed a fraction of that. \u00a0. \u00a0 His total experience with the military? \u00a0 He went to a military academy, \u00a0and spent considerable time and money getting out of the draft to avoid serving. \u00a0 \u00a0Add to this the Republican controlled Congress who claims (as does the candidate) to be a great supporter of Veterans, \u00a0yet, time and time again \u00a0has refused to pass appropriations and laws that would actually make it better for those Veterans.<\/p>\n

Look at the way this same Congress has tried to obstruct President Obama’s programs, and, in spite of that, \u00a0he has managed to get a number of major items through, helping Americans, and improving America’s financial state.<\/p>\n

Look at the way the Right-Wingers who support the Republican Party seem to have forgotten the concept of truth. \u00a0 Day after day, \u00a0I see claims made that are patently false, \u00a0and have no basis in truth. \u00a0 Yet, \u00a0 the Right-Wingers NEVER call out these liars and demand they prove their claims. \u00a0 Rather, \u00a0they accept these untruths and run with them.<\/p>\n

As I contemplate the sacrifice that so many of our brave warriors have given over the decades, \u00a0 I weep when I see the way we, as a society are spitting on their bravery and sacrifice. \u00a0 \u00a0Let us, on this Memorial Day, \u00a0 make (and keep)\u00a0 a promise to them that we will work to return to an ethical path that is controlled by the Constitution, \u00a0as it should be. \u00a0 That we will put aside name-calling, \u00a0 emotion based argument, and clinging to lies because they feed our prejudices and our agenda,. \u00a0 \u00a0I believe it is only this way that we can really honor the memory of these men and women and what they gave for each of us.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Greetings and Salutations; \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 I have been poking around online, and, on the cable channels this… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,386,9,10,11,23,13,16,1],"tags":[534,531,241,475,533,532,529,530],"class_list":["post-828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-general-thoughts","category-humanity","category-nuttiness","category-observations","category-political-rants","category-questionable-decisions","category-ruminations","category-uncategorized","tag-chicknhawk","tag-internment-camps","tag-obama","tag-right-winger","tag-torture","tag-vietnam","tag-world-war-1","tag-world-war-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828\/revisions\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}