Friday, July 27, 2007

Friday night specials


Tonight on Bill Moyers' Journal, Moyers talked about an 18-year-old who had never wanted to be anything except a soldier. He enlisted at age 17, and was killed a couple of weeks ago by a roadside bomb.

Following this story, students at a recent convention of the College Republicans were interviewed and asked how they felt about the war in Iraq. Without exception, the answers were exactly the same as the White House mantra: "We have to fight Al Queda over there, so we don't have to fight them over here."

Next each was asked if he/she was planning to enlist. The answers were: "No, I'm in college now." "No, I'm playing baseball in college." "I tried, but was turned down." "I can't because of medical reasons." "Well, uh, no, I never considered it." "Well I'm an undergraduate right now and I had a scholarship...I just didn't have any real urge...I just didn't have any strong urge..." "Why am I not serving? I don't know...I mean... I really support this country strongly and I...you know... I didn't enlist. There is not much else I can say. I don't think that you can't talk about this issue if you're not serving." No further comment necessary.

From time to time, over the years, I have copied or cut out articles or book exerpts and stashed them in various places. I was going through the stuff removed from the jewelry/junk drawers of one of the chests this afternoon and came across some of these goodies. It's always fun to find things and discover what I thought worth saving at one time or another. One group of pages blew me away. I had copied these paragraphs by hand from The Many Worlds of Leo Rosten by Leo Rosten (1962). Click here to read about Leo Rosten.
We must forever oppose hysteria, even when it is wrapped in the vestments of patriotism.
We must learn that those we like are not always right, and those we don't like are not always wrong; for the validity of an idea has little to do with who is for it or who is against it. (Leo Rosten, 1962)
Today's picture is on the road heading in to the Valley of the Gods, UT, near sundown.

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