GunSlinger OIF II wrote:
i would agree but I just cant find myself to. I feel like I have a personal stake in the success of OIF and I really really really really really really really really dont wanna see Iraqi's dying and bleeding every day. I love iraqis and I want that place to succeed with as little amount of people suffering.
I agree that it'd be nice to not have the suffering and be able to bypass it, but I think there is a lot to be said for the "process".
Too often today (and I mean this micro and macroscopically) the children of a previous generation or veterans of various conflicts try in earnest to shield others from that experience. This is generally done out of love or at least caring and respect, but it has a nasty backlash. The problem with this is that we are who we are BECAUSE of what we've gone through, not in spite of it. This goes for individuals as well as nations. We are a product of out past, so to try and place someone in line with our history and way of thinking WITHOUT having gone through what we have will ultimately fail.
It may succeed for a while, but eventually the question of, "Why am I doing it like this?" will arise. Followed closely by, "Is there a better way?"