Friday, November 03, 2006

God rest them, every one

From NBC News' Blogging Baghdad: The Untold Story:

I know that if Will had worn his uniform and walked into almost any bar in New York City, where I live, he would have been surrounded by people buying him drinks.

I believe that most Americans support the troops, even if they don’t support this war. It’s just that a lot of Americans don’t know any of the troops. And because so many of them don’t know a single person in the military, it’s really easy to go through the day at home without a single thing to remind you that there is a war going on.

A friend in New York -- an Army colonel -- described standing in his dress uniform in the
lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel. He said four people, all Americans, came up to him to ask for directions or help with their bags, thinking he was a porter.

When he suggested to a woman whose son was interested in the military that she send him to West Point, she was horrified. "But I’m glad we have you people to do that," she said.

Are memorials too sensitive for Americans to see? Deaths too sensitive to talk about? The war too sensitive to be covering?

You tell me.

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