War, What is it Good For? - Leo Tolstoy...I mean Edwin Starr

Written by: Daniel
Not to be a downer but something has bothered me as of late...

How cool is this dude? Meet Don Zirkel, Korean War-era vet and Deacon in the Catholic Church and a man who stands up for his beliefs, something far too few of us do. On Saturday, March 29, Mr. Zirkel wore this shirt, which reads "4,000 Troops 1 Million Iraqis Dead, Enough." Don wore this shirt to an anti-war rally and afterwards him and his wife went into a mall's food court in New York for fries and coffee. Security guards approached Mr. Zirkel and told him to turn the shirt inside out, put something over the shirt, or leave. Don, who is 80 years old and never been arrested refused get out of his chair. But wait, it gets better as the security guards fetched a wheel chair, picked him up and put him on the wheel chair and wheeled him out where police promptly arrested him for criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.

But here is the big question, did you know how many American servicemen and women have died in Iraq? According to a recent study by Pew Research only 28% of Americans knew how many US soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines had died since the war began five years ago. 28%!!! How disgusting is that disturbing fact? I wish I could say that we should know these numbers because our tax dollars have paid for this war and that we should know how our money is being spent by the government but since this is the only war in the history of the USA that taxes were not raised to pay for the conflict who really cares, right?

Maybe the reason our troops are often tragically ignored is that the media is simply not covering what is happening. For example, during the past month of March, only 3% of all news stories were dedicated to the conflict, despite reaching two gloomy milestones, five years of war and 4,000 dead. So, what is so important that the media is reporting on before the deaths of our loved ones thousands of miles away from home? Take a guess.

Maybe the reason so few know how many of their fellow Americans have died in Iraq is because they are not seeing any of the above images, flag covered coffins. The Army has a saying that I always liked, "Out of sight, out of mind." Hence the reason our own government has refused to allow cameras to greet the dead. The Vietnam War came to a screeching halt as soon as the draft was changed to a lottery meaning that regardless of one's educational status, political pull, or financial background you could now be drafted and sent to war. Is that what we need to do to give the deserved attention to our fallen heroes, most of which happen to be from financially impoverished backgrounds? Well, until then, news about the antics of worthless and leaching celebrities will have to do.

My heart aches for all of those that have lost fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, friends and neighbors in such a sad campaign. As of today, April 2, 4,012 US servicemen and women have been killed in Iraq, 29,496 injured and don't get me started about the incredibly large number of Iraqis that have lost their lives as a result of being caught up in the middle of a fight we started.

I can't help but ask myself what I have done to honor, remember or help those caught up in the middle of this war? I don’t know, for some reason I get the feeling everyone else is doing more than I. Perhaps the best way to end my aggressive rant is by thinking of the most recent American death and quote the talented musician Neil Young who wrote and sang:

There’s one more kid

That will never go to school

Never get to fall in love,

Never get to be cool.

Keep on rockin’ in the free world,

Thank goodness we have people like 80-year-old Mr. Don Zirkel to lead by example.