I am numb. My mind doesn't want to process the death of
Nicholas Berg.
I know we've lost way too many Americans, both military and civilian in
this war. Mr. Berg certainly isn't the first and most probably
won't be the last.
I can't help but think that the manner of his death, the circumstances
surrounding it, were fueled by what our own military personal have been
doing to prisoners of war. I firmly believe it's retaliation.
Would the loss be felt any less by his family had his execution not
been video taped and actually put on the damn internet for anyone to
download and watch? I doubt it. It's the outrage of having
something like that made public. Forgive me, my mind is numb and
words, which usually give me a hard time anyway, aren't flowing well at
all right now.
I have seen my share of death and it seems that above all most people
hold to the opinion of "If I'm going to die, let it be a dignified
death."
I was working on some graphics earlier and had worked up an American
flag and Bald Eagle to use on a Memorial Day stationary. The more
I worked on it, the more I noticed that I was developing this sick
feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't put my finger on
exactly why for a while, then it kind of just came to me.
I'm so deeply ashamed of what our soldiers (and I really hate using the
term "our" in this case) have inflicted on the Prisoners of War.
Their behavior completely negates what we, as Americans, hold near and
dear to our hearts - basic human rights.
"Humane treatment" is our battlecry. Hell, we get all up in arms
whenever we see someone's civil rights being abused. Isn't one of
the reasons we are in Iraq to end forever the dehumanizing and
torturous mutilations by Saddam and his people? I may be wrong,
quite frequently I am, but damn, I swear that was one of the reasons
given. Maybe it was just a good "sound bite" for the American
people by our 'leaders".
God, I use the term leaders very loosely.
Look, I'm proud of America, and I'm proud of our troops. I know
our system here isn't perfect, but it's a damn site better than a lot
of places. I respect and honor the basic principals of our
beliefs, however varied they may be at times.
I'm just tragically disgusted to be associated with some of our troops and our leaders.
Maybe the filmed beheading of Mr. Berg would have happened regardless
of the media storm of the treatment of the POW's - who knows.
It's entirely possible - but I still can't help but think that there's
a slim chance that it wouldn't have. Hell, it's completely
possible that Mr. Berg, a civilian businessman, would never have been
executed if not for that. Who knows?
I'm rambling because I'm stunned.
I'm scared. I'm scared for our people over there and I'm scared
for our people HERE too. Nothing seems to be getting
better. There's no progress. There's no resolution.
It just seems, to me, that it's going to be getting worse and worse and
worse.
Granted, I'm not the most politically minded person. I'm very
naive in the ways of politics and the world powers. I'm the first
one to admit it. I'm not writing to convince people one way or
the other. I'm just voicing my concerns and documenting my
feelings.
- It's wrong for us to be there.
- It's wrong what our soldiers did to the POW's and in my opinion
some major housecleaning needs to be done, with anyone remotely
connected to the incidents being held 100% accountable.
- It's wrong for Mr. Berg's death to have happened and to have
happened as it did, being publicized as it was. It's
disrespectful of his final moments and of his family. That means
you too, CNN, for providing the link for people to actually watch the
execution.
- The American people are being lied to - either that or the powers
that be are being lied to and are totally clueless. I'm not sure
both aren't happening. I'm not comfortable with either.
- I think it's total bullshit that we couldn't nab Saddam any sooner than we did.
- I believe this war is being kept going for someone's profit. Money. Period.
- Who does the US think it is anyway? Some friggen hall
monitor or super hero to go in and "rescue" oppressed people. Umm
hello? What if they people don't want to be rescued? Don't we
have enough problems here at home to deal with?
- Why are we there?? What is the purpose? I've never heard a satisfactory answer yet.
- I know we can't walk away. We walked away before and didn't
finish the job back in the Gulf War. Look where it got us.
- I absolutely cannot believe that I'm worried about and writing
about a War. It just doesn't seem possible, although I know
logically that it's a cold hard fact. It just seems surreal to me.
- As a species, humans are rapidly devolving and we're doing it all ourselves.
- What are my sons going to have to face as they get older?
- What is the US going to do about Mr. Berg's publicized execution, and do we
have the right to be indignant over it. I think we do, but the
thought of retaliation doesn't ease my mind. Remember, in order
for us to retaliate it's going to mean risking more of our
troops. Troops are PEOPLE! How many people will die in this
game of "one-up-manship"?
- God help us all.
Again, I'm not writing this to convince, sway or even debate
anyone. In fact, I refuse to debate anyone. I'm just one
more very concerned person who is asking questions that probably never
ever will be answered.
It's my blog. The place where I write things that I want to remember so
that I can look back later and know where my mind was and what was
going on in my life at a given point in time.
Right now, friends, my mind has been blown.
Bravenet Blog 
Blog Community
Get a Free Blog
Manage your Blog
bravenet.com