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March 19, 2007
Four Years
I tend to avoid political topics when I blog. Not because I lack an interest or passion for the stuff discussed in civics classes. It's because I spend so much of my time glued to reading news sources and wallowing the state of the world around in my head that I'd rather use my blog for personal means instead of political.
But we all know that the personal is political, so sometimes there's overlap.
Four years ago today, I was trying to get pregnant. Actively trying to get pregnant. Afterwards, while scrounging the kitchen for dinner, I turned on the TV just in time to see the beginning of the president's address, informing us of the "shock and awe" campaign.
Shocked? Yes. Awed? Not even a little. Shocked and disgusted, chagrined, saddened, embarrassed, and terrified's more like it.
I remember one thought so clearly from that night. I remember sitting on the couch, half-listening to the address and thinking, "What the hell are we thinking, trying to bring a child into this world right now?"
Obviously, those thoughts only momentarily deterred our efforts. Clara Jane was conceived two months later. I also don't talk about religion/spirituality on my blog for the same reasons I avoid political discussions, but I will say this. At Clara Jane's Methodist daycare, there's a framed print near the nursery that reads, "Babies are God's sign that the world will continue."
I was born in October, 1972, in the midst of the Vietnam War and the beginning of Watergate. Things were bad. And yet, here I am, along with a lot of other people who grew up, too little to understand Vietnam and Nixon, but marked by it. I firmly believe that I picked up enough of what was going on when I was a child for it to form me into the raging anti-war liberal I've always been.
Who knows? Maybe it'll be kids like Clara Jane, born into this current mess, who will have the motivation to fix things. It's not fair to burden the next generation, but maybe they'll have the tools and experiences to figure it out.
Why the political rambling? My old pal Kara posted this weekend about the One Million Blogs for Peace initiative. If you look to the right you'll see that I've signed up. If you have a blog and think that all combat troops should be brought home immediately, please sign up and spread the word.
Kara's also a product of that Vietnam/Watergate era; she's ten months younger than me. We grew up together with buried nuclear missile silos in our town. It wasn't unusual to hear the civil defense sirens blowing in warning because a warhead was being transported on the highway that runs through the busiest part of our hometown on the way to the nearby air force base. I'll bet she remembers being in the car with her mom as a child, pulling over to the side of Broadway to let the camoflagued armoured vehicles pass. I'll bet she's also been in our hometown as an adult and has looked up to see the underbelly of the B-2 bomber flying overhead. In fifth grade, our hometown even got a shout-out in the TV movie The Day After. We'd been wiped out by a Russian nuclear attack, an idea that scared me so badly that I slept in my parents' bedroom for a month. And I hadn't even watched the movie; just knowing that scene existed and was a possibility was enough to scare me to my core.
We live near the airport that houses the Missouri Air National Guard. Fighter jets fly over our house in formation test runs twice a day. As a matter of fact, I can hear their rumble right now. 10 AM and 3 PM every single day, a reminder of war. After the president's address four years ago, B. and I headed to the grocery store to find dinner and get away from the news. We saw those same jets taking off, circling St. Louis in protection because of what our country had done. This isn't the kind of world I want for my child. I don't want her to grow up with a fear that's more based in reality than my Cold War fears nearly 25 years ago.
Soon enough I'll be back to writing about my usual crap. But today, I wanted to do a little something to make it clear that I don't agree with what's going on. I don't want another life lost in this fruitless mess. I want it over. I want our troops to come home and receive proper health care, both for their physical and mental health. I want retribution for the people of Iraq who've had their infrastructure destroyed, and who've lost so many more people than we have in this mess. I want peace.
Posted by Robin at March 19, 2007 09:27 AM
Comments
All signed up, w/ you as my referer. :) BTW: birthdate 12/20/71 here.
Posted by: Eden at March 19, 2007 11:03 AM
It's funny that you'd choose today to write about this. There was a protest against the Iraq war in our building today. I heard it was hard getting in and out of our building until the protesters went on their way. There was even a grim reaper on stilts! Of course everyone in the building had to go down and sight-see at least once....
Posted by: Amy in StL at March 19, 2007 02:37 PM
I don't reckon I'm eligible to sign up since, while I'm an American citizen, I live in Germany and I assume they'll consider my blog to be based in Germany - not one of the countries involved in the conflict.
But I'll be one of the supporters. I said five years ago that I thought this was all bullshit and I'm still calling it bullshit. And the way the US treats its war wounded is shameful if not actually criminal.
Posted by: Dixie at March 19, 2007 03:30 PM
In a little over 8 months, Lance will be required by law to sign up for selective service.
He brought me coffee this morning and kissed me before he left for school.
Is there anything more sickening than the thought of offering him up to this tragic mess? Not in this lifetime.
Posted by: pkb at March 20, 2007 07:03 AM
Amen.
Posted by: Exena at March 20, 2007 11:49 AM
I was born in 1970 with my oldest brother born some time before that. My parents were thinking of moving to Australia at this point but the Vietnam war was not near its end. They were drafting boys and men, and my brother was getting close to draft age (who knew when the war would end?). They changed their mind. If it had not been for the Vietnam War, I coulda been an Aussie kid, surfing, drinking XXXX, and sunning myself on Bondi. As it is, I'm in England, in the rain and wind, and life is a whole lot different. But at least we're not speaking German or French as a native language.
Posted by: Birdie at March 20, 2007 03:15 PM
just found your post! and yes, i remember all of that clearly. too clearly. i also remember sneaking in and watching 'the day after' and having nightmares ever since then about it. i decided that i should see it again (i know) two years ago. re-freaked out.
Posted by: kara joy at March 20, 2007 06:22 PM
