One of the biggest frustrations I have had regarding the war is that there is little I personally can do to contribute to a victory. There are a few things that the average citizen who is not eligible to enlist can do. We can donate to any number of charities, we can send letters and boxes, we can try to offset the media defeatism by promoting milblogs that keep people informed of the true state of the war, we can pray for the safety and success of our troops…
The Texican Tattler looks at it from an historian’s point of view:
Our society as a whole is so well off, so lazy, and so unaffected by the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan; and it’s a night and day difference to how the country as a whole was organized during WWII.
…Where’s Rosy the Riveter today? What about victory gardens? While we do have blackouts today, they are not the result of rationing, but rather the end result of 40 years of bad energy policy. (Making fun of the eco-movement will be the topic on another day…)
Not getting the nation to enlist in the fight in some way, no matter how small, was a huge mistake. Sooner or later there will be another successful terror attack, and people will wake up again. At that point I hope the President, whoever he or she is, will take the opportunity to explain to the nation that this is going to be a very long war, that it is unlike any other conflict America has been engaged in, to clearly define what victory will look like, and that we all have some part to play in achieving it.
