A more serious post - letter to editor

I just sent this in to the Coloradoan:

"The first sentence of a recent news story reads: “Word that U.S. Marines may have killed two dozen Iraqi civilians in "cold-blooded" revenge after an insurgent attack has shocked Americans but many Iraqis shrug it off as an every day fact of life under occupation.” I am not shocked. This is what war does to people.

Years ago I worked with a man who served in Vietnam. He told of a time when his unit was doing a search in a village. He walked into a small hut, and heard a noise. He turned quickly and fired his weapon. Only then did he realize he had just killed an old woman. She was not armed, she was no threat. But he felt he was in a position of kill or be killed. This is what war does to people.

I saw a movie on Iraq at the Aggie Theater. In it there is a young man who talks about killing the “ragheads”. In Vietnam, the North Vietnamese were referred to as “gooks”. In South Vietnam, on March 16, 1968, United States soldiers under the orders of Lt. William Calley entered the village of Mi Lai and started killing unarmed civilians, primarily old men, women, children and babies. This is what war does to people.

It is an exception when we hear about the killing of innocent people in war. But it is a reality of war. We should not fool ourselves into thinking otherwise."

It makes me sad to realize what is happening every day in Iraq, and elsewhere in the world. I tried to make this letter hit people, and make them think. It seems like we have our head in the sand about this war and what is going on.

Well, I won't post too many like this, but I wanted you to see what I wrote. Love to you all.