(no subject)

[weaktwos]

CNN is airing the the sailors from the USS Shiloh who are returning to port in San Diego. Everyone is so thrilled and happy to see their return. And well they should be. And they did their duty for which they cannot be faulted.

However, I can't help thinking that they were in a ship at sea, safe from most of the horrors of war. Wives of returning sailors are complaining that they have been so busy with the kids and that the dog kept getting out, etc.

That struck me as obscene. Perhaps I'm just feeling guilty about the luxuries we have here. However difficult life gets here, we didn't just have a huge army blow up our countryside and kill some of our family members.

As much as I'm happy that these troops are home safely, at best this conflict was a necessary evil. It almost seems obscene to see sailors wives kvetch about all the chores that await their husbands who just returned from deployment.

American woman: "We've got yard work to do."
Iraqi person: "I've got to find my next meal, and I have to remove rubble from my home."

I'm not going to say it's all bad, yet. But still.

Comments

[myasma.livejournal.com]

It's probably good to feel some guilt. It proves that you have compassion. My wife is from a poor country, and periodically reminds me of just how good we really have it here. It used to irritate me, but now I appreciate what she's telling me. It's pretty hard to complain about how much ice cream is in your bowl to someone who used to share an apple with six brothers and sisters.

[weaktwos.livejournal.com]

Yes, ever since my trip to London and Paris, it hit me how vulgarly wasteful we are. And I wasn't even in third world countries. I was in bustling "modern" cities.