I get a few email forwards. Not too many. Usually they are fairly amusing. Which means that the people who have my email address in their address book are pretty selective about forwarding emails. I’m lucky. I recently got this email forward about Soldiers. I’m sure its been around a while. As well it should. It is important to remember where these soldiers are going, what they are experiencing and how uncomfortable their lives are when they are gone for a year to 15 months. I copied and pasted most of the email.
you stay up for 16 hours
He stays up for days on end.
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.
You complain of a ‘headache’, and call in sick..
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
You put on your anti war/don’t support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
You make sure you’re cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
You talk trash about your ‘buddies’ that aren’t with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn’t get to eat today.
Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn’t have time to brush his teeth today.
You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.
You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don’t.
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.
You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.
You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long.
This is where the email irritated me.
If you support your troops, send this to 7 people. If you don’t support your troops well, then don’t send this out. You won’t die in 7 days, your love life won’t be affected, and you won’t have the worst day ever. You don’t have to email this. It’s not like you know the men and women that are dying to preserve your rights.
The captions were distracting. As if the images weren’t powerful enough, the author is going to follow them up with threats? I have to forward this message if I support the troops? And not forwarding this email means I don’t support the troops? Is that why that man is lying there wounded, possibly dead in that photograph? So I can fill up my friends email inboxes with images of these soldiers in obvious distress? Expletives come to mind. And if that wasn’t enough, it seems someone else had to tack on some more pearls of wisdom.
Lest we forget -
KEEP THE CHAIN GOING
People need to learn when to shut up and let the images speak for themselves. What the? “I better not hear of anyone breaking or deleting this one.” Excuse me? I’m not the idiot waving a sign that says Thank God for dead soldiers. I just got the email in my inbox.
Don’t misunderstand me. I love that I got this email. I think its intended purpose was fulfilled with me. It reminded me of the absolute beauty of humanity. We’re all entangled in an intricate web of fierce survival. It reminded me that I need to thank God for every blessing. The idea that these powerful, brave men are serving–putting their young lives on the line because they believe in certain human rights is in many ways a miracle. I got an email from a former classmate of mine over the Holidays. He is serving in Afghanistan presently. He sent some photos of himself handing out toys to children, and poised sniper-style on a cliff overlooking a sandwashed valley. I highly doubt any soldier would send out photos of himself or his friends wounded, dying or in any other kind of outward display of anguish. Those moments are sacred and I think they should be treated as such. I have mixed feelings about whether or not its appropriate to distribute photos like these. On the one hand, its important that we know what it means when it is blithely reported on the evening news that more soldiers were killed. But I really hate, and that is a strong word–I hate when people use these sacred images inappropriately. You can’t use images of dead or dying soldiers like a sucker-punch to the gut. You definately can’t use them to make some kind of selfish political statement. (Michael Moore comes to mind.) And don’t you dare use these sacred images in a mass email and then tell people what to do with them, how to process them. The pictures tell the stories, they capture the emotions perfectly. I deleted some of the pictures because I just didn’t feel comfortable seeing them. I deleted some because I thought I had enough. I don’t know if I’m right to post the ones I am.
