Cell Mates

Frank Paynter jokes that AKMA and I are in danger of being rounded up by Homeland Security for expressing our anti-Bush views. Well, I’d be honored to do time with AKMA, especially if the RidgeBoys would allow him to select the Musak for the holding cell.

Thanks to AKMA, by the way, for his links to Duermer and the Kulikauskas piece. It’s depressing, but we need to keep reading this kind of input, and informing each other about it.

It reminds me of ’65 and ’66, when there was not yet a critical mass of sentiment against the war. There were days when one just wanted to turn away from the sadness of it all, and from the fearful contemplation of what was to come. But we resisted the urge to retreat and persisted in holding rallies, and gathering in bars, lofts, and coffeehouses to remind each other of the need to keep informing ourselves, and to empower ourselves to spread the word.

Where is that kind of energy today? Nowhere to be seen, except in some damn fine blogs. Of course, we're getting no help from the Democrats. They're scared shitless with the election looming. Bush has'em right where he wants'em--competing with him to see who can wave the flag the hardest.

Then there's another, less obvious but, I believe, more potent factor--the absence of a universal draft. God forbid we should start that up again. I've got two draft-age boys. The Army helped me to grow up, but my guys can find some other maturation process, thank you very much. The problem with an all-volunteer, professional military is that it doesn't hit home. Can you imagine if the boys down the block were being sent off to this insanity? Bush wouldn't be able to get away with it.