Logorrhetoric

I just found this and wanted to pass it on...

For OpEdNews: Rowan Wolf - Writer

The U.S. is deeply embedded in the mythology of the heroism of the warrior culture. There is a lot of rhetoric about the courage and sacrifice of the those who have fought (versus those who have served) for our "freedom." Never is that "freedom" defined. However, it is true that many have served - willingly or not - under the belief they our protecting our "freedom" and "our way of life." I will not besmirch those sacrifices, nor will I be silent on the utterly shameful way that both the government and the people of the United States have met the needs of those who have served. We call them "heroes," but as a nation living with heroes is a more difficult task than remembering (once in a while) those who have died.

Many return from their service transformed All too often, they are too uncomfortably transformed to fit into the "civilian" flow of life. For some, it is more comfortable to return to bloody combat and the risk of death, than to return to friends and family, and co-workers, and a clueless populace. The adrenaline, and violence, and death-linked comradery is a real embrace. The invisibility and lack of understanding of "home" is a different kind of death.

For some, there is no return to war zones, and for better or worse they wrestle the demons and some "win" and some "lose." Some rebuild their lives. Some end up on the streets, or in the jails, or numbed by drugs of choice. Many, and certainly their families, cling with all their might to the comfortable myth that "it was all for a grander purpose."

I have heroes who are veterans. I have watched many face the demons of war (and military "actions") that remain with them - often for a life time. One of the sacrifices they made is the tattering of a glamorized entertainment myth of war and fighting in the face of bloody reality and burned indelibly upon their mind's eyes, and upon their hearts. It is a cost beyond bearing, and one that goes virtually unacknowledged by the populace.

Instead, they all too frequently face a betrayal by those societally tasked to know - and support - them. Namely, the Department of Defense, and the various military services, and the Veterans Administration. Conditions such as PTSD and psychological issues are frequently ignored, or those who have served are dissuaded from pursuing services. Then there are those other things that the military does not want to acknowledge, and therefore refuses to provide service - the "atomic" vets, agent orange, depleted uranium, Gulf War Syndrome, the effects of vaccinations, the paltry benefits left to the families of the fallen, the list goes on and on. The realities of serving - or surviving serving.

Once a year (twice if we count Memorial Day) the nation is called on to recognize these heroes - standing and fallen. This sanitized recognition does not mean embracing the reality of the service or the true sacrifices made. This sanitized recognition does not even recognize the human and national costs of that service. Certainly, nothing is said in this war glorifying culture regarding what the best recognition should really be - a commitment to ending war and working for peace. Yes, peace is work - ongoing work. However many veterans DO make this commitment, and for veterans that commitment comes at a higher price than for most who have never served.

So I want to say thank you to the most courageous of veterans who I know - those veterans who struggle for peace. They have fought, and continue to fight, incredible internal battles while waging the most significant of struggles - the struggle for peace. Thank you veterans for this ongoing service to an ungrateful nation. Thanks also to those veterans organizations that struggle untiringly for peace and truth, and support those who have served in this critical struggle.

Please thank a veteran, and thank a Veteran's organization such as those below. Importantly, also commit to fighting for veteran's rights and to creating a world where such sacrifices are never needed again.

Veterans for Peace

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Veterans Against the Iraq War

*my edit:  WinterSoldier.org

www/uncommonthought.com/mtblog/

http://www.joshilynjackson.com/mt/archives/001104.html

"Thanks, " he said.  He took a sip.  He couldn't think of any good dying words this morning.  Probably best to go on living until he was more inspired.

This one's the cover for my first 2010 calendar (see it here). Still to come, a calendar of Danny's knitting/spinning, a kitchen calendar, a vertical calendar of botanicals, a calendar of B&Ws, and the ever-popular Men calendar.

http://www.joshilynjackson.com/mt/archives/001103.html

http://katrinastonoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/monday-book-giveaway-november-9-2009/

http://katrinastonoff.wordpress.com/?p=4066

Three books to give away, three winners! Congratulations to:

• Sue R.! As the first winner, Sue gets her first choice of the three: Grundish and Askew by Lance Carbuncle.
• Kat Bryan! Kat’s first choice was The Long Sleep by Stephen Mellor, so she gets her first choice too.
• Stephen! Stephen gets his second choice, Shapeshifter, The Demo Tapes: Year Two by Susan Helen Gottfried.

Congratulations, winners! If you’ll send your shipping information to katrina (at) stonoff (dot) com, I’ll get your books in the mail.

For next week, you can choose any book I’ve mentioned. It can be a book I’ve referred to casually on the blog (like that really big book you’ve all heard of that you cannot mention by name), a book I have given away (like Something Missing or Big Numbers), a book I’ve reviewed (like Mark of the Demon or the books listed here and here), or any book that appeared on one of my giveaway shelves.

Comment below with the name of the book you want, and come back next week to see if you’ve won. Contest open to anyone on the planet who has access to reliable mail service.

Now, the hat:

As promised, I went to Portland to get pictures of the fascinators. A fascinator is sort of like a hat except much smaller, more like an ornament than a head covering. They are usually very showy, with feathers or beads that stick up and out of the hair, and are worn at dressy occasions. They can be on a headband, a comb, a barrette, or bobby-pinned into place. My favorite fascinator designer is Taissa Lada (who I discovered through her Live Journal).

Sadly, the fascinators I loved at Nordstrom were gone. However, there were fun head ornaments, similar to fascinators, and I took pictures of some of them.

This one is a rose made from a strip of black and pinkish-gray knitting, set on a thin black headband. I like the width of this headband, but chose not to buy it for two really good reasons.

1. It brings out the salt-and-pepper in my hair (EEK!).
2. Kim, my favorite sales clerk ever, said, “That looks like a bird’s nest in your hair!” I’d hate to give a passing bird any ideas.

Note to self: when you fall in love with something at Nordstrom, buy it. I should also have bought the miniature top-hat set at a jaunty angle on a headband that I saw in a quirky little store in Portland a couple of months ago.

http://www.joshilynjackson.com/mt/archives/001102.html