The war in Iraq; the war at home

Readers will recall our previous discussion of the email from Bryant "Doc" Shurley, a medic in Iraq who supports the "surge." The erudite message received massive "viral" distribution, leading some to suspect a hoax, or a propaganda effort of some sort. I contacted Bryant's father Michael and determined that the message was real.

I was also interested to discover that Bryant was, like me, a graphic designer. Although he's probably quite good at what he does, competition never bothered me -- so if the war ends soon and he rejoins the field back here in the States, that'll be fine.

Bryant's position on the war angered some readers; obviously, it is not a position I share. Still, these words from his father deserve to be read:

I was in fact, thankful that someone would finally attempt to validate Bryant's letter as authentic. Most folks we've met who oppose the war had rather just slam the letter for being of contemptible and of shady "Republican" conspiratorial origin.... Your professionalism in the rebuttal presentation on your blog is important to me and very much appreciated. There are some out there who when faced with an opposing point of view, would rather just rip it, out of contempt and hatred, rather than attempting to discern in it any possible merit. You have offered studied rebuttal, without trying to defame or abuse in an attempt to change what is merely opinion. Why is it so hard for others on both sides of this issue, to do the same, without the hatred and derision on every issue?

As I had said, Bryant was not trying to write historical copy for some news machine, or a political document intended to cause polarization. Rather, it was a quick effort by him to explain to his parents that he was ok, and to share what he had gleaned in the short 2 months of daily "sapper" missions in Iraq. Neither was it my intent to fuel pockets of political division when I sent out those email copies of the letter to my classmates. I was just a father wanting to share my elation at finally hearing that his son, serving in harm's way, was ok after a long time of no communication.

The whole process of dealing with the "aftershock" of Bryant's letter has been quite educational for my family. His letter rose above normal internet correspondence, and took on a life of it's own. It seems to have been incredibly polarizing across the nation, for having started with such innocent intent.

Once again, thanks for being fair and for explaining the facts underlying your point of view. I am now more informed and equipped to make better decisions based on your information. Thank you also for your thoughtfulness in explaining the medic's work to others who might not want to give it the credit it deserves....

This message touched me, and to some extent, shamed me. Mike Shurley reminded me of how coarsened the discourse in this nation has become. We need not be this way. We used to be better.

I used to be better.

It's easy enough to point to the other side and to say: "Well, they started it." Year after year, Coulter, Malkin and Limbaugh have used words like "traitor" to describe anyone disagreeing with their positions. Not long ago, Sean Hannity came out with a book which, in its very subtitle, equated liberals with terrorists.

With accusatory titles facing us every time we wandered into a bookstore, with those sorts of attacks blaring out of every radio loudspeaker, many of us felt that this nation no longer had room or desire for reasoned debate. The time had come to "imitate the tiger," as Shakespeare once put it.

The result has been something akin to a civil war in this country.

(To read the rest, click "Permalink" below)

We haven't actually started shooting at each other, but we've gotten used to screaming at our fellow citizens like howler monkeys each and every day. To tell the truth, some progressives have become so strident, I find them as repellent as I find Limbaugh.

After the last election, quite a few people "kidded on sly" about the need for a new civil war to get rid of the south. Even after the jokes ended, I made no secret of the fact that the idea of red state/blue state separation appealed to me. The culture, I felt, had fractured beyond repair. The "mystic chords of memory," as Lincoln put it, no longer possessed their power to bind.

But even in Lincoln's day, when cultural war gave way to an actual shooting war, far-sighted Confederates understood that the South and North would soon be trading partners, while far-sighted Northerners understood that the Union would be best preserved if a defeated South were treated with dignity. We should apply a similar understanding to our current conflicts.

Despite Bryant Shurley's words, we will, I think, lose in Iraq. That assessment stems from realism, not from a mindless defeatism, and I mean by it no disrespect for our soldiers. This administration went to war in a part of the world it did not understand -- Bush, according to reliable report, did not even know the difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites. We are not wanted there, even by the people we had hoped to aid. Moreover, and most importantly, American taxpayers are sick of funding this adventure.

We lost this war the moment it started.

But, as I've argued previously, nations tend to go a little mad after a loss. History is pretty clear on that point: Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese war led to the advance of Communism. Germany's humiliation after World War I aided the rise of Hitler. After France lost to the Prussians in 1870, that nation ruptured culturally in ways reminiscent of America's current red state/blue state divisions.

That's why I fear the post-war period even more than I fear the current war.

We cannot afford to go "a little mad" as those other nations did. America needs to be what it once was -- a nation in which citizens can have opposing viewpoints while still respecting opponents as fellow citizens.

I can't force the Ann Coulters of this world to moderate their tone. All I can do is to try to regain my best self -- and to apologize for the many times when I've stupidly let passion overwhelm civility.

The last time a race riot broke out in my city, the man at the center of the storm, Rodney King, asked his fellow Angelenos to "get along" -- and he added a few words that should be better remembered: "Ain't nobody going anywhere." People made fun of him, but he was right.

Ain't nobody going anywhere.

So we're going to have to find a way to talk to each other.