Candles in Windows

During the Second World War the whole country was invested.  We willingly sacrificed much for the war effort - rubber, fuel, scrap metal, our time and most of our resources.  Our commitment and determination were unmatched.  We also sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives.  A candle would burn in the windows of the homes where loved ones were lost in combat.  There were constant reminders of the awful inhumanity of the enterprise.   No such reminders or commitment exists today. 

While Americans are still fighting and dying on foreign soil, the wars we fight today are very different.  They are far more complex.  The enemy is not primarily a soldier carrying a weapon but an ideology born of hundreds of years of hatred and conflict.  There are no enemy lines.  We can no longer measure success by the amount of land we occupy.  These are conflicts that seemingly will have no end.  There will be no armistice, no accords, no unconditional surrender, no peace treaties signed, hence, no formal end to hostilities.  Those days are gone. 

What remains is the same the mindset required by our troops seventy years ago.  Without this mindset there would be little chance of surviving this living hell.  Our literature, documentaries, news programs, and even our entertainment have addressed it on countless occasions.

This attitude was most accurately and dramatically depicted in the opening monologue of the movie “Patton.”  “The Nazis are the enemy.  Wade into them.  Spill their blood.  Shoot them in the belly.  When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that was a moment before your best friends face – you’ll know what to do.”  It is a mindset that is the complete opposite of the one demanded when living in civilized society.  There is no room for dignity, compassion or humanity.  This mentality is fueled by hatred - a hatred of those who would kill you, your comrades and your family.  Without this mindset a soldier knows he is destined not just to lose the battle but ultimately, to lose his life.

 For those who may have been reluctant to adopt this mindset the harsh reality of its importance was best validated by the most powerful scenes ever filmed – the taking of Omaha Beach in Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.”  The aftermath of hatred produced by that carnage led to our soldiers killing German soldiers who had surrendered.  In civilized society, those Germans would have been classified as cold-blooded murder victims.  In war, they are classified as casualties.

Hitler committed suicide and ordered his body burned to prevent the Russians from torturing and publicly defiling him.  That’s war.

 America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima killing between 90,000 to 166,000 and on Nagasaki killing another 60,000 to 80,000.  That’s war.

 In light of recent developments, it would appear these realities have been apparently dismissed.

 The news has reached us that three American Marines urinated on Taliban corpses.  Outrage has been expressed to the point of demanding the three soldiers be dismissed from the corps.  What is striking is that we now live in a time when such a suggestion is viewed as being humanitarian in nature.  War does NOT have a humanitarian Nature.  Before we send these Marines packing maybe we should ask the families of the 4,500 Americans killed in Iraq how they view the actions of these three Marines.  No such question would have even been posed during the fighting of our World Wars. 

 This whole episode further validates how today’s lack of involvement distorts thinking.  We no longer have a draft so most Americans are no longer invested in our bloodbaths.  We want no part of it and because those candles no longer burn in windows, we are comfortable with election campaigns that primarily focus on our pocketbooks rather than American body bags. We give a lot of lip service supporting our troops.  This lip service has been hollow and hypocritical.  If we truly cared for their well-being and the well-being of their families, we would demand they be brought home.  Anything else fails to evoke any sincere admiration or respect, or any deeply held understanding, as to the true nature of their suffering and sacrifices.  

 Those of us who find all of this disturbing have come to know this great inhumanity to man as evil.  But make no mistake, this; “Wade into them - Spill their blood - Shoot them in the belly” mindset must flourish and be instilled if we are to ask our sons and daughters to fight and die.  To punish them and attempt to publicly humiliate them for adopting and developing this survival mentality is counterproductive and dangerous. 

 Like it or not, there will never be a humane war.   Any such humanity, absent any candles in windows, will, for the most part, have to be exclusively borne by the mothers left to bury their sons and our soldiers.