War, huh, yeah. What is it good for?

Last night, Ken and I watched "Windtalkers." It was released way back in 2002, and was one of those movies that we've had for a while but never got around to watching. It's based on the WWII Navajo code talkers and the code based on the Navajo language. The code was never broken, and it is one of the really neat stories of WWII.

It's not a great movie, but it's pretty decent. Some of it was a little cliched, but all in all, I liked it. However, a lot of it was disturbing to watch, because there were some fairly graphic war scenes. Nothing as devastating as "Saving Private Ryan" (I can't watch the opening scene without sobbing and trembling, because it gets to me so much...I've only been able to watch the movie twice.), but still bad. I feel that sometimes it's a good thing to see scenes like that, though, as a reminder of what our military faces in combat situations.

There was a lot of hand-to-hand combat in this movie, as there was in "Ryan," and I made the comment to Ken that it makes me wonder if war has almost become too easy for us. Bear with me while I explain. I was reminded of the "Star Trek" episode (And I do manage to relate many things to "Star Trek." Some truths are universal and timeless.) in which the crew of the Enterprise encounters a planet that is at war with their neighboring planet. ("A Taste of Armageddon," Season One) They speak of the extensive casualties of their war, but Kirk and the others soon find out that in order to avoid the complete devastation of war, the inhabitants are targeted by computers as "dead," and willingly report to antimatter chambers where they are zapped out of existence. Kirk destroys the chambers and explains to the rulers of the planet that in their complacency they have forgotten the horrors of war, and if faced with the reality of it, they will work towards achieving peace through diplomatic solutions.

Our military technology has increased so much that it is a simple thing to kill with a smart bomb, guided by computer systems and launched without seeing the face of the enemy. This doesn't mean that combat doesn't happen up close and personal, too, but thousands are killed without ever seeing who, exactly, is shuffling them off this mortal coil. This is not an indictment or criticism of our military; just the opposite. We have too often put our military personnel into a situation that is so far removed from us and from our sight that we don't understand what they are going through. It is us, back at home, existing happily unaware of what is going on, who are forgetting that war is hell. I also believe that those giving the orders can forget what they are sending their troops into. The men and women who are in the middle of it understand it all too well.

I recently read a column in which the author said that one of the greatest mistakes that President Bush made was sending our troops to war without asking any sacrifice of the American people. I agree with that assessment. We went on with our lives, spending our money, not paying any extra taxes to fund the war, deprived of nothing. We are like the inhabitants of the planets Eminiar and Vendikar: we have forgotten that war is not neat and tidy. It is bloody, gory, messy, and deadly. We have asked our military men and women to sacrifice, sometimes to sacrifice all, while we have been asked to sacrifice nothing.

Do I think that war is a necessary evil? Unfortunately, yes. I'm not so naive to believe that there aren't times when you have to fight back. But I would hope that in the future, it becomes the last resort. I firmly believe in a strong military, but hope and pray that in the years to come, we will be able to better utilize their abilities with peacetime assistance rather than military might.

I remember in high school, we had a debate in our World History class about our use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. My position was that it was the right decision at the time, based on the cost of American lives that would have resulted in the planned invasion of Japan. My late Uncle Ted was on his way to Japan for the invasion when the bombs were dropped. He may very well have been one of the thousands that would have died. I was the head of my debate team for this exercise, and my team won. As you can probably imagine, I can be relentless.

I won't go into the pros and cons here of dropping the bomb. Suffice it to say, I was a high school kid, and I saw things in black and white. I realize now that there is much more to it than saying it was the right thing to do, the ONLY thing to do. Different time, different place, different people, and it is not for me to pass judgement. I can actually see both sides of the issue now, and could probably argue successfully for both positions. However, I wonder if I could have been the crew member on the Enola Gay who flipped that lever to release the bomb? No clean launches from silos in the Midwest...they flew over the city, saw the buildings, and dropped their payload right on top of civilians. I don't believe I could do it.

Is it easier to push a button thousands of miles away? Is it easier to shoot someone from yards away than it is to slip a knife into their heart? You tell me.