The Importance of Being Bradley

I'm feeling almost sick waiting on the verdict of the hearing. I don't write about politics or the news

very often on here. There's plenty of that to go around and more than enough opportunity to voice my opinions on such matters. For here, I tend to focus on the personal and that which is personal, yet shared, among my peers. But in my heart this case feels personal and it has since the story first broke, when I first saw that very young man being led in handcuffs to what would become a seemingly endless confinement to a tiny cell. I've spent time in a holding cell, about 48 hours, and it damn near drove me mad. I can't even fathom what two years in such a place would do to a person.
I know there are a lot of people who care and who do take it personally as well. This case and it's outcome will be a turning point in our country, just as the release of the Collateral Murder video was also a turning point. Those of us who know veterans and have heard their stories weren't terribly surprised by what we saw. Most vets will tell you these things, and worse, much worse, happen all the time. There was something that was disturbingly 'safe' about having that knowledge restricted to a select bit of the population. Like incest, you want to keep it hidden away and that first confession, no matter how healing it is, feels like having a layer of skin ripped off.
 I had a friend who was in Vietnam who told me about taking trophies, human ears, and wearing them strung around their necks like jewelry. War does that to people, it makes them do things you would never imagine them doing. This man was one of the kindest most caring people I knew and yet he had at one time sliced ears right off peoples heads. He told me that if someone was in the road when a truck of troops came along that person would be run over and left to die. It didn't matter if that person was a child or an elderly person, which they usually were. There were other things too that he wouldn't talk about but I can imagine.
Most people don't want to know these things. I don't want to know these things and yet I feel it's my duty to know them because I live in a country that perpetrates more war than any other. I want to know these things so that I never forget why I oppose war in any way possible, even if most of them don't feel very effective.
There's another layer to this story and it's even more personal. I have children about Bradley's age. I have always taught them principles of honesty and integrity. You know, do the right thing and you will be rewarded, at least if only with the knowledge and satisfaction that you took the high road. How can I tell them that now? How can I tell them to intervene if they see injustice if they see an innocent young man go to prison for life for doing just that? It's one thing to teach your kids that life isn't always fair but this goes far beyond unfair.
Obviously Bradley's parents taught him the same kinds of values, and now they have lost their son because no matter how this all turns out he will never be the same guy.But in the midst of all the grief and anguish I hope they will always be proud that their son changed this country forever in a way that needed to be changed. The scab has been ripped off, the flesh is still raw and now its up to us as a nation to decide how to heal the wounds of war and injustice.
© 2010-2013 Nanakoosa’s Place, authored by Jennifer Hazard

Bad government and other April Fools

Hello Everyone and Happy Friday!

As I was reading the news this morning I frequently wondered if what I was seeing was some sort of April Fool's joke. Of course, I feel that way every time I read the news lately. It feels like our whole world has gone mad, especially those in power. Or...have they always been mad, manipulating, conniving, thieving crooks? Well, probably yes, that's how they got and kept the power in the first place. What is different and what may be pressing them into more furious attempts to usurp our freedom and democracy, is that they can no longer hide it. We no longer rely on Cold War era spies snatching dossiers and briefcases with "top secret" emblazoned on them. Can you tell I watched a lot of Mission Impossible as a child? The t.v. show with Martin Landau not that remake with that Godawful Tom Cruise. Anyway information, as they say, is power; it's true whether you are dealing with the economy, politics, or your own personal path. How many of us who were in abusive relationships stayed because we didn't have the information and resources to understand that it was not our fault, that we did not have to live that way? The same goes for alcohol or drug abuse. Most of us were seeking a way to self medicate, to soothe some pain or fear inside us that we did not understand. We felt alone, as if we were the only ones who thought/felt/feared that way. I once heard an old school "tough love" addictions counselor say "You addicts think you're all so special". Well you know what, we are. We tend to be the people who question the status quo, who sense innately there is something not quite right with the way things are, and oftentimes that knowledge is too much to bear.
At this point in history I think we should all feel a little vindicated; we are learning that things aren't quite right, that the grownups have been keeping secrets. I often relate the way I feel about our government to living in an alcoholic family. we are supposed to be quiet and not mention that Daddy is passed out on the floor or that Uncle Joe (Wall Street, I'm looking at you) stole our coin collection to pay the bills. But like so many children who grow up in this kind of environment, there are those of us who will rebel, who will point out the proverbial elephant in the room. And as in any dysfunctional family we will spanked, sent to our room with out dinner, or locked in Solitary Confinement like Pvt Bradley Manning who (allegedly) dared to reveal that Daddy was hurting people.
My writing is always dedicated to those of us who have lived on the fringe, rebelled and questioned authority and I believe our time has come. It's time to speak out against whatever oppression, secrets or fears are holding us back from truly being ourselves.
What holds you back?
Image courtesy of Eleanor Hazard, may be duplicated with credit to the artist.
© 2011 Nanakoosa’s Place, authored by Jennifer Hazard

Can we get a little Justice around here?

Remember this?
..you know if a citizen was to post a hit list of politicians and one came up dead or close to, the FBI would be all up in their ass. hmmmm let's all think about that for a moment shall we? as we also consider that Bradley Manning is being held in solitary confinement indefinitely for allegedly revealing a rather similar scenario involving US troops and Iraqi citizens....please I really want people to think about this!!!
I've just about had it with this country, the hypocracy, the hatred, the paranoia the lack of empathy for Human Life.
Maybe we can't stop the fanatics, but lets support those who have made grave sacrifices to reveal the truth out of a sense of duty that goes beyond military orders, beyond false patriotism and rhetoric.
Thank You,
Nana

http://www.bradleymanning.org/
© 2010 Nanakoosa’s Place, authored by Jennifer Hazard