[news] America's Memorial Day Is Not Just For Veterans Anymore

[Resist!ca]

I cannot compartmentalize America's Memorial Day to just be about veterans of war. I feel a compulsion to include the victims of these veterans' killings and torture on Memorial Day, perhaps even above honoring vets and their victimhood in American political messes. I understand this angers people. But as an American, I feel an obligation to speak out about my own country's crimes. I see little difference between the immorality behind the Vietnam War, and the endless victims of American aggression there during my lifetime, and the quagmire of atrocities going on in the name of "freedom" by my country in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries now. I refuse to blindly honor all veterans of war as heroes. I see many of them as criminals, not heroes. I see others of them as victims, but very few, if any, war veterans do I view as "heroes."

URL: http://resist.ca/story/2005/5/29/0332/77529