As all of you know I am just a simple country boy
(at least I've written it often enough, you should know it by know), but here's
my two cents worth on the war and Winona. Or perhaps I should say, here's
my perspective on how it is playing out locally.
I'll preface my remarks by saying that my family is
certainly in this hook, line, and sinker. My brother is a colonel attached
to the J3 in Tampa...they're the folks running the war. My nephew (his
son) is a 1LT in South Korea whose tour ends in about fourteen weeks.
Having said that, rumor has it that they may be pulling troops out of Seoul and
redeploying them to Iraq this summer...regardless of how close you are to
getting out. This is not an abstract argument to me.
First observation: While at the Wisconsin GOP
state convention in LaCrosse over the weekend, Tommy Thompson criticized "the
local media" for their biased coverage of the war. Does anyone on this
list actually believe that local media, a majority of which is locally owned and
all is locally edited and disseminated, has a liberal agenda to discredit our
military and discrace George Bush? I think not.
Second observation: As schools of thought on
the war have crystallized locally, and nationally, there is a certain
self-righteousness to the tone of the statements coming from, for lack of a
better word, "the right." On her radio show on KWNO on Friday, Linda
Chavez essentially said that you cannot support our troops and oppose our
foreign policy at the same time. I see this argument as jingoistic,
oversimplifying matters greatly, and really insulting the loyal opposition,
those on "the left." Ruthie made a similar statement, and I just don't
think it is right.
Third observation: Locally, as nationally,
the "loyal opposition" is saying stupid things. I hate to be using
LaCrosse examples so much, but the Tribune was ripe with material on the
editorial page today...here's one more. A protester during the president's
visit wrote to lament, essentially, that police and secret service had
trampled her human dignity and how she was moved to tears by a sixty something
German emigre who opined 'this is just like the Nazis when I was young,'
prompting both women to weep. Puhleeze. I know some are saying the
police were a bit too eager to please by hiding protesters behind stacks of
dumpsters, but that's a bit extreme.
Fourth observation: For us to be willing to
dehumanize the enemy, by using the term animals, does put us a little too close
to the fascist column for my taste. These people are 12th century low
life scum, but they are people. I'm disappointed that my friends in this
community would so easily disavow that fact. That's why Abu Ghraib
happened. We should resist such temptation, no matter how appealing or
personally satisfying it might be. By dismissing these individuals as
animals, we may also underestimate their ability to undermine our national
goals.
I remember back to the morning of September 11,
2001. I was just finishing up my morning show when the first AP stories
started coming in (amazingly it took more than 20 minutes, the bureau
people must not have believed it either). I remember how I felt when I
realized they weren't saying a small general aviation aircraft was involved in
the first of the two New York crashes, and then the Pentagon, and then
Pennsylvania. When I knew these were attacks, and feared that the dead
could number in the tens of thousands, my taste for blood was as strong as
anyone else's. I remember first hearing months later that bombs were being
dropped in Afghanistan, and I was glad to know that we were responding against
those responsible for 9/11. To say, nearly three years later,
that one is not a patriotic American if one does not lock step
with every word coming out of the current administration...I say those are not
the words of a true American patriot. He or she would know that democracy,
freedom of speech, and intellectual freedom, is every bit as important during
wartime as during peacetime. Every past effort to stamp out the free
exchange of ideas and debate in our society has produced bad decisions.
Our strength is our diversity, and its ability to shape a cogent and effective
public policy for this nation, regardless of the issues involved.
To the moderators: Ladies, I have dealt here
only with my observations about the conditions in River City. If anyone
wants to read my thoughts on the war in general, they are invited to read
them on the national group...if I can find it. Will someone please send me
a link?
Bob Sebo
Winona
Technically challenged...an irritation
Two lists...a pain in the neck
The freedom to say whatever I
wish...priceless.
