Dying in Vain (Bang the Drums Slowly)

Whether soldiers in a bad war are dying in vain is a philosophical question, yet those who so often pose it are not the least philosophical. They are demagogues and paid propagandists posturing for the cameras and pandering to the least common denominator – the basest gut instincts of ordinary men and women.

It is entirely possible to believe that individual soldiers can be honorable, even noble, in a cause that is horrific. The soldier who protects a family of innocent civilians, risking life, limb and military career, is without doubt honorable. Should that soldier lose his life in such an endeavor, none can rightly claim that the soldier died in vain.

By the same reasoning, it is possible that a soldier serving a virtuous cause can commit horrific acts that dishonor him and the forces he serves. Even those who believe (despite all contrary evidence) that the cause of America in Iraq is noble cannot defend the actions of soldiers who rape, murder and torture innocent Iraqi civilians. We may rationalize these atrocities by the ignobility of the cause – a war that places our soldiers in a crucible of hatred and deceit – but we cannot honestly defend their actions. The victims of such depravity have truly died in vain.

The cynical advocates of war love to push buttons that short circuit reasoning and trigger irrational responses that in turn substitute for patriotism. Supplanting logic, they offer bumper sticker slogans to rally the unthinking masses: "Support Our Troops", "These Colors Don’t Run" and "Don’t Let Our Soldiers Die in Vain" become rationales for the war itself – just as "Stand By Your Man" became a rationale for wife beating.

Combating the irrational is a difficult task. We can only bang the drums of reasoned opposition without pause, without wavering, continuing the march until the masses fall in line, until the soldiers themselves join us, until our elected representatives can no longer ignore us, until the last soldier comes home, until the last military base is dismantled and the neocon warlords who committed this colossal atrocity are sent packing, never to rise again.

Philosophically, it is impossible to sit in judgment on any individual’s death. It is equally important, however, to realize that dying in vain is neither a crime nor source of shame. Rather, the shame and dishonor belong to those who have killed in vain. The ultimate shame and dishonor belong to those who knowingly constructed false pretexts to send our fighting forces to war.

Beyond our warriors or those that oppose us, we can have no doubt that countless thousands – even hundreds of thousands – of Iraqi civilians have died for a war they never asked for, never wanted, and did not deserve.

Have they died in vain?

To the mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters of the dead, it is not vanity that matters; it is the permanent absence of life. It is an emptiness, a darkness, a shadow of the heart, and the slowly fading memory of a face that will never smile again.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). THE CHRONICLES HAVE APPEARED ON DISSIDENT VOICE, THE ALBION MONITOR, BUZZLE, PEACE-EARTH-JUSTICE AND COUNTERPUNCH. Contact: jackrandom@earthlink.net.