Sebastian Junger on sharing the burden of war
In the Washington Post, Sebastian Junger, the author of “Restepo” and “War” makes recommendations for trying to bridge the gap between the country’s warriors and those in whose name they go to war. I say “bridge” because it’s fairly obvious to me that the gap can be bridged but never closed completely.
Perhaps war is so obscene that even the people who supported it don’t want to hear the details or acknowledge their role. Soldiers face myriad challenges when they return home, but one of the most destructive is the sense that their country doesn’t quite realize that it — and not just the soldiers — went to war.
That gap can’t be closed mostly because the folks who don’t go to war want to keep that comfortable distance from that which is done at their behest. So Junger writes that the burden of war can be shifted from the shoulders of the warriors to those other folks.
Our enormously complex society can’t just start performing tribal rituals designed to diminish combat trauma, but there may be things we can do. The therapeutic power of storytelling, for example, could give combat veterans an emotional outlet and allow civilians to demonstrate their personal involvement. On Memorial Day or Veterans Day, in addition to traditional parades, communities could make their city or town hall available for vets to tell their stories. Each could get, say, 10 minutes to tell his or her experience at war.
Attendance could not be mandatory, but on that day “I support the troops” would mean spending hours listening to our vets. We would hear a lot of anger and pain. We would also hear a lot of pride. Some of what would be said would make you uncomfortable, whether you are liberal or conservative, military or nonmilitary, young or old. But there is no point in having a conversation about war that is not completely honest.
Of course, it will never happen because those who have kept their veterans at arms length won’t bother to participate in this particular “ritual” because they’ve done their part. The anti-war crowd protested the war and tried to bring the troops, the right fulfilled their obligation by putting a yellow ribbon on the ass-end of their SUV, so those other people should listen to the stories, you know those other people who don’t watch the Military Channel.
For example there’s this comment in response to the Post article;
Not true. I opposed both wars and wrote my representatives accordingly. In addition, I joined in a protest against starting the war in Iraq.
Category: Support the troops
I recently heard COL (Ret.) Medal of Honor recipient Jack Jacobs speak. He had a great line:
“Everyone supports the troops because no one wants to BE the troops”….perfect.
ok im a bit of a sinical bastard, and in a rather foul mood, but i dont see how this idea could accomplish anything. the only people that would show up to talk would be the pogs that never saw anything or did anything. ive never met anyone that was on the front and in the fighting that had any interest in telling war stories. ive heard a lot of 88M try to sound tough telling superman stories, plenty of 92G talk about their heroic adventures, but how many people that have been in real situations have any desire to relive any of that shit? ive seen more IEDs blow up then i care to count, been in too many fire fights to try to count, and never once have i had any desire to tell some random group of people stories of any of those expiriences. People would show up to listen, they would be the same ones with their yellow ribons on their cars. they would sit around and listen to all the guys that never did or saw anything talk themselves up, and then they would laud over those people as if they were heros. screw this idea, ya want to bridge the gap between vets and civilians? stop pretending we are damaged goods that need peoples “help”
@1–bingo. So few people even understand the concept of sacrifice, and of those who do, it’s an even smaller percentage that willingly make ANY sort of sacrifice. A great number of people I see claim to make sacrifices for those around them, but in reality there’s a payback for them at some point. Altrusim is a lost concept on probably 95-plus percent of the populace. Now before some come here and claim that veteran’s “benefits” negate the sacrifice of the veteran, consider the conditions put upon them, and how easily those “benefits” can be altered or taken away altogether. Quid pro quo doesn’t necessarily apply if there’s no guarantee of reward at the end or if it isn’t given.
Case in point, my former mother-in-law a few years back talking about the sacrifices made by Americans because we were in Iraq. I basically countered her point by asking what exactly SHE had “sacrificed” in that effort.
No answer was forthcoming, nor did I really expect one. Americans since 1945 have no concept of what it means. When in nearly 12 years since 9/11 we’ve lost barely 1 percent of the men and women lost in 3 1/2 years of WWII, and the material sacrifices, rationing, etc., I find it ludicrous that any “average” American can claim to be sacrificing for our efforts.
Yeah, it may be a movie line, but the words of Colonel Jessup ring pretty close to home when I think of the vast majority of Americans: “Because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you WANT me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall.”
@1 and @3. Thank you and well said! America wants to win a war but they, by and large, don’t want to hear about it. It was true when I was in Vietnam and it is still true today. Perhaps WWII was the last time the populace was truly behind the war effort and the troops. It seems to me the average American just doesn’t want to know about or hear about any war. To them, just let our little soldiers go do their thing, after all, in the American mind, that’s what a soldier is paid to do. That last sentence I wrote makes me sick but I am afraid it is true. Happy Memorial Day to all of you though it is not so happy for me. Not because I do not honor in the highest those who gave their all. I do. But because the sadness I feel at the remembrance of the loss of so many fellow soldiers overwhelms me. I hope my post is not misunderstood by any here.
I realized I just posted Happy Memorial Day. Please forgive. It is not the day I fire up my BBQ and as I wrote above, in truth it is not Happy. It is solemn. I almost feel ashamed for posting that. When I remember Vietnam and those whom I knew who died there and have died since there is nothing happy about it. It is a day about Honor, Respect, Solemnity and Remembrance. God bless and keep them all. Again, my brothers, please forgive if I offended.
I have to agree with Smitty on this one. I think the author’s heart is in the right place, but I don’t know too many people that have seen the elephant that would tell war stories the those that haven’t.
To the civvies out there who have never served in the armed forces: with all due respect, just leave me the HELL alone and let me live out the rest of my life in peace…I expect nothing from you, so please don’t expect anything more from me…
As said, the gap may be bridged, but never closed. A favorite quote (I don’t know where it came from or who said it):
To those who were there, no explanation is necessary.
To those who WEREN’T there, no explanation is enough.
That’s why I seldom, if ever, talk about my military experiences to my in-laws. I tried, once upon a time, but saw that it was useless. They’re all intelligent people, but they’re all DACs (Dumb-Ass Civilians).
And the shit head protestors, IAVA creeps, and stolen valor jerk offs would be their with their lies and hate should any soldier really attempt to describe what it was like. I have tremendous respect for Sebastian but unfortunately the large number of assholes in the 99.5% would fuck it up for everyone. This may sound arrogant or selfish but they don’t deserve to know what war is like. They haven’t earned the right. You have to pay the cost of admission and that is betting your life and your sanity against the odds or being the wife, child of parent of one who did. The chance that should you be lucky enough to come home in one piece, you’ll carry the burden of your lost comrades and the decisions you made both right and wrong, and the consequences of your actions. Most of us have no problem dropping the hammer on a bad guy. But when the fight is over its a pretty heartless guy who doesn’t see a person laying there, even though he wasted his life inflicting pain and misery on others. It would be easier if the line were always so clear, so black and white, but it isn’t. That is just the nature of war and one of the many burdens we bear. Do you think they want to hear how we torched and demolished homes where we found contraband, even though the home owner may have kept it there under the threat of death? Folks caught in the crossfire or used as human shields by soulless animals without conscience? Children bleeding out from an IED with their brand new back pack and school supplies mixed in with their blood and brains? Folks accidentally shot for running a checkpoint because they were confused or did not understand? Fuck no, they want precision drone strikes on “known” terrorists (how’s that working out lately?), uber cool SOF takedowns with two to the body and one between the eyes just like in the game (wish it came with smell o vision). They don’t want to hear about when… Read more »
The article as a whole was very good….but the own hall concept ain’t gonna work.
I agree with Smitty. It’s unfortunate that many who have never seen combat or done anything more dangerous than waiting in the Baskin Robbins line at Bagram are the ones claiming PSD. These people have made a mockery of PSD.
These people are the reason why the media have perpetuated the stereotype of the damaged and mentally scarred veteran.
Bring back conscription. Honestly, what do you expect from a volunteer service that makes up a little over a percent of the population? Newsflash, military veterans are a minority. Minorities are left forgotten and exploited. Honestly, this is exactly why conscription was even mandated in the first place. Shared suffering. For the same reason we had fair taxes the same reason we had a conscription service in place.
Of course that was still back in the day when putting on a uniform didn’t make you special. It didn’t make you a “hero”, it was an obligation to fill. Signing up was just doing your part, back when you had to prove your patriotism to your country. We ask ourselves why the Nation is so unafflicted by War? Why no one cares? Are you blind or do you just keep yourself willfully ignorant? The answer and solution is staring at you in the face. Shared suffering.
Wigwam–do not concur. Forcing people to serve doesn’t work, at least not in the long term.
NH- funny how opinions change over the years, I remember when I went in many of the experienced Vietnam-era guys advocated the draft – said basically that draftees just wanted to get it over with, and they just put their heads down, and did their jobs decently hoping for as early an out as they could get. Vets of the all-volunteer forces say that only volunteers work. Obviously there is a little projection going on… and more than a little realistic support for both opinions.
Me, I could supports a national service – but not everyone is cut out for the military. God knows we have enough other things we could stand to throw people at, though. Maybe everyone without exceotion serves for a year or two in a wide variety of possible areas, of which the military is only one?