Masters of War

Old men in soft chairs conspire to create, either by the direct implementation of a new course of action or in reaction to the blowback incurred as a result of previous policy decisions, the conditions (often under false pretenses) in which young men and women are sent into harm's way only to return from the horrors of war with life-long disabilities, visible and unseen. These same politicians create a mythology in which the deadly realities of war are romanticized under the cloak of slogans and imagined visions of heroic victory and noble endeavor. Meanwhile, those who have become victimized, traumatized, and otherwise altered by their experience are, in far too many cases, also abandoned and ignored as they attempt to re-assimilate with society. In a cruel irony, the originators of the policy that has damaged so many lives callously use the plight of these wounded souls in an attempt to curry additional political favor in order to be placed in high office where they are certain to create the same deadly conditions which produced so much suffering in the first place. This circular and cynical dance has repeated itself for far too long...the chain must be broken...the lives of those made to pay its ugly price must finally be properly honored. As for the old men and sadly some women as well who spend their time dreaming their deadly dreams, I will turn to one of my favorite poets who said just the other day (or so it seems)....'like Judas of old, you lie and deceive; a world war can be won, you want me to believe; but I see through your eyes and I see through your brain; like I see through the water that runs down my drain.' And don't let the door hit you as you leave the room!