Grief and Sacrifice

On Monday night, PBS aired two extraordinary programs called “Warriors” and “Operation Homecoming”detailing the experiences of U.S. soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and experiences of those from past wars. During the program, one Vietnam veteran said, "That's the sign of a decadent civilization. To send young people to go and do and suffer the things that soldiers do and suffer and to not care or be aware or pay a price. That's an unforgivable decadence.”

He’s right, we are a decadent country. Most Americans go through their day with little reminder that people wearing our uniforms are fighting and dying, killing and being killed. We are irritated when the cable goes out, or the barista is slow making our latte. But, when soldiers die or Iraqi civilians are killed, the event merits little more than a brief mention on the news. We cluck and shake our heads, then settle in for "American Idol."

In every major American war before this one, American civilians were aware of the price and sacrifice of war. From the draft to war bonds to rationing, American civilians’ daily lives were touched by the war. Now, a small number of volunteers are fighting this war on money borrowed from China, and Americans are fatter than we’ve ever been before.

The killings at Virginia Tech were terrible, and anguish, anger, and grief are properly placed. However, it is notable that there is little public or shared sense of grief and anguish over the 3,334 service members killed in Iraq. That figure is more than the total people who were killed in the attacks of 9/11, and 100 times the number of those killed at Virginia Tech. The number of service members who have been wounded in Iraq is 24,645. There is no agreed-upon number for the Iraqis who have been killed in this war. Estimates range from 100,000 to 600,000. And, just this week, approximately 200 people were killed in bombings in Baghdad.

But, as a country, we don’t seem to care all that much about the carnage in Iraq. Candlelight vigils to mourn fallen soldiers or dead Iraqis are few and far between. Flags are not dropped to half-staff in their honor. And, when there is massive carnage such that Baghdad experienced this week, coverage is meager and perfunctory.

Defense Department regulations prohibit us from seeing pictures of the flag-draped soldiers’ coffins, as they are unloaded at Dover Air Force Base on their way to burial. Similar prohibitions forbid coverage of funerals for service members at Arlington National Cemetery. As far as most Americans are concerned, violence in Iraq happens in a vacuum. Most Americans have no real sense of the cruelty and sacrifice and carnage taking place in the country we have invaded. We slap a Support the Troops magnet on the SUV and think we have done our part.

We need to see the coffins being offloaded at Dover AFB. We need to see coverage of service members’ funerals, and mourn their loss. Instead of interviewing the last person voted off of “Survivor,” Matt Lauer should be interviewing the survivors of every service member killed in Iraq. Regardless of each person’s position on the war, it is vital we recognize and try to understand the cost of our war. Only in recognizing the sacrifice and grieving for those lost can we hope to prevent such wars in the future.