TANGENTS: Debunking the slogans and sayings of war

By: John Saccenti
   Have you ever heard a phrase so often that, despite any firsthand proof, you start to believe it?
   Have you ever, after having started to believe said phrase, started repeating it, using it like your own little catch phrase that suddenly makes you feel smarter or better about yourself?
   Haven’t we all?
   But what about the phrases making the rounds these days? "Give peace a chance" and "We have to support our troops," just to pick two. Do they really mean anything?
   I suspect there is a kernel of truth and good intention behind them. But, I’m not so sure they mean what we think they mean, which probably means we should all think more carefully before speaking.
   For instance, "war doesn’t solve anything" is a powerful statement thrown around by war protesters and almost anyone who says they value peace above all else. It sounds good on the surface, but all you need to do is read a history book (any will do) to figure out how embarrassingly wrong it is.
   Three examples: British rule over America, slavery and the Holocaust. If war didn’t solve those problems, then please, tell me what did.
   Then, there’s "give peace a chance."
   Oh, yeah. Thanks. Without your help, I never would have thought peace was a viable option. Thank God you’re there for me.
   I love this one because, like everyone else, I find that a little peace can be very, well, peaceful.
   But, its fatal flaw is that it implies that we haven’t actually given peace a chance, and nothing could be further from the truth.
   In America, peace is a way of life. In fact, most of my life has been mostly filled with peace. For those of you who don’t recognize it, it’s that period of time between wars. You know, the time that’s best described as peaceful.
   What do you think we were doing before Sept. 11, before we invaded Afghanistan? We were actively engaged in a war? Really? Which one.
   If you ask me, the phrase also is a little insulting. Are you insinuating that I’m some kind of war monger, stamping out traces of peace wherever and whenever I find them, unwilling to give them a chance to flourish? Do you think I’m too dumb to give peace a chance all by myself?
   Peace loving people who need something to chant might want to consider the far more accurate, but far less rhythmic "I like peace, let’s have some more?"
   Unfortunately, we’re at war and "we have to support the troops" is on the lips of almost everyone — everyone protesting war protesters that is.
   Considering it is a soldier’s duty to protect constitutionally protected rights such as freedom of speech, yelling at peace protesters probably isn’t the best way to support the troops.
   If you look at it that way, what kind of message are we sending our soldiers when we shout down protesters? After all, if we don’t value the right to free speech enough to allow others to exercise it, then maybe we should just tell our soldiers not to bother. Go home. We don’t care.
   They’re fighting for our right to many things, including to protest. Either tell the troops their efforts are a waste of time, or let the protesters exercise their right to speak. You can’t have it both ways.
   And, while we’re on the subject, don’t fool yourself into thinking that by putting a flag on your car you’ve done all you can to support the troops.
   If it works for you, then great. I have to admit I know people on the home front need these types of things and from that perspective they’re great.
   But, while I’m sure they appreciate knowing these emblems are there, I don’t really know how much energy and inspiration a 19-year-old soldier making his or her way to Baghdad while dodging bullets will draw from American flag decals, patriotic T-shirts and people standing for the national anthem.
   Supporting the troops takes a lot more work than just complaining that others don’t or decorating our cars.
   Write them letters. Send them care packages. Tell them you love them when they come home. Pray for them and tell them you’re proud of them. Do what you can for veterans.
   Just don’t be naive enough to think you have a monopoly on supporting the troops because you wear a T-shirt with an American eagle on it or that you’re angry that others don’t feel the same way as you.
   Because if that’s the way you think, then you’re wrong.
   A new phrase, one not used to protest or as an implied insult, but very much in the public consciousness, is "it’s like something out of a movie." I heard it a lot March 19, and for almost a week straight after Sept. 11.
   It’s a pathetic phrase used by the unimaginative to describe images of war on television, to describe the carnage, disaster and nightmarish destruction bombs have on cities and planes have on buildings.
   But, what movie, exactly, are we talking about? Is it the one where the aliens attack the White House? Is it "Saving Private Ryan"?
   Really. Tell me what movie they’re talking about, because I don’t remember ever seeing a movie where real people really died, unless you want to count Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
   Comparing Sept. 11 and the current war, or any act of violence, with a movie or television show is an insult to everyone — the injured, the dead and, yes, our soldiers (I doubt very much that American soldiers, whose job it is to kill, conquer and defend, are comparing their job to "The Terminator").
   I pay $8 for movie, but I’d pay a lot more to not have to watch what I’ve watched over the past few years.
   Movies are fake. War and death are real. There is a difference, and we would all do well to remember that.
John Saccenti is a news editor for Packet Publications. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].