Comments on: Was there nothing there worth fighting for?

By: Chris H.

Chris H. — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:35:01 +0000

I too am a political theorist (I think that I encountered your son on a theory related post over at T&S a few years back).

To answer the question: Humanity is worth fighting for.

By: Lamonte

Lamonte — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:19:27 +0000

Chris H. - My son received his PhD in Political Theory. He has been teaching at a university for the past two years.

By: Chris H.

Chris H. — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:32:05 +0000

What was your son’s area of study at Notre Dame?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:35:07 +0000

It’s easy to overthink symbols and analogies, but even so I’ll point out that scars come not from dying but from surviving. There are a lot of things I would die for in the excitement or drama of the moment, and probably fewer that I would fight and live and fight again for, repeatedly. For example, I might be willing to lose my life pushing someone out of the path of a train. But if I got to know that person and decided that, for some reason, he was not worth the sacrifice, would I repeatedly give pieces of my life fighting to make his life better? (No, when I keep forgetting to put out that grocery bag for the Food Bank to pick up; yes, when I am a committed visiting teacher genuinely looking for ways to serve my sister.)

Anyway, I liked this post and am thinking about what exactly I *do* fight for in the sense of giving myself repeatedly, and I’m looking back to identify people who have fought for me in innumerable ways. Thanks for the challenge.

By: cheryl

cheryl — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:08:33 +0000

Lamonte-
Those were my brother’s words (Sam was right).

I’m sorry for your friend. Seeing anybody die would definitely change perspective.

By: Lamonte

Lamonte — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:58:02 +0000

sam - “It blows his mind how little truth the American people are actually told by the media.” Maybe I was making a big assumption but this seems like a position statement.

By: sam

sam — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:31:26 +0000

Actually, Lamonte, Cheryl never expressed her position on the war. She simply passed along what her brother said.

By: Lamonte

Lamonte — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:19:26 +0000

cheryl - I won’t say I agree with your position on the war but certainly the men and women who have served, and especially those who have died, deserve our praise and our honor. I have a friend who just returned from Iraq after a relatively short time there (6 months). He is an attorney for the Air Force and spent his entire tour within the Green Zone. But that was no gaurentee of his safety. And just like you, his family and all of us in the ward were grateful for his return about three weeks ago. We also have a friend, a single mother, whose son recently completed his second tour in Iraq. He had served a four year enlistment and planned to leave the service in July of 2006 when he got married. But the Army said he had to stay and serve one more year. He left in August of 2006 and his tour was extended to December of 2007. During that period of time his two best friends were literally blown up in front of him - in two separate attacks - and he was seriously wounded in one of those attacks. He has a decidedly different attitude about the war than your brother.

And so I am sure that there will continue to be a division of opinion among Americans about the War in Iraq. But hopefully we won’t let that divide us in our devotion to those who willfully serve. I’m glad your brother will be coming home to all of you.

By: cheryl

cheryl — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:25:17 +0000

Decency and Morality. Freedom and Righteousness.

My brother’s last day in Iraq is Friday. He’s been gone for a year and we’re very excited to have him back. Luckily for us he was in charge of a supply unit, so he wasn’t on the “front lines” –but it sure makes me appreciate the things people sacrifice for others. The whole country is in uproar over the war in Iraq and my brother simply says he has never seen a people more grateful for the American Soldiers than the Iraqi people. It blows his mind how little truth the American people are actually told by the media. This makes me appreciate my brother’s sacrifice of being away from his wife and son even more…