Scribbler's Cafe

The View from Japan

The evening news here shows very different images of the war in Iraq than the news back home. In Japan, I am shown pictures of wounded children and hear the story of a woman who lost her entire family. There are no graphics of flying eagles or high flying flags.

I am showing my English movie class “Three Kings” – the movie about the imperialistic American soldiers in the Gulf War that gain a more global, empathetic awareness and abandon their greed to help rescue a village of people. I asked my students if they would ever like to be soldiers. They all said no and gave good reasons why.

“I am afraid of war.”
“I don’t want to miss my family.”
“I don’t want to shoot anyone.”
“I don’t want to die.”

Today during chapel we were shown some old footage of four American soldier deserters from the Vietnam war. The film was called “The Intrepid Four: Patriotic Deserters”. A young American, just 19, spoke into a huge microphone. He said that though he may never be able to see his home, his friends or his family again, it was worth it to stand up against the killing and the war. The sound of sniffling filled the auditorium.

Often, I am horrified by my country’s violent global actions. I wonder if people outside America think that all Americans hate Muslims, or that we are all greedy for oil and blood. I am so ashamed of my government and my president. From outside, the horrors of our military’s actions are obvious and unthinkable. Inside America, they are rationalized and watered down. We aren’t allowed to see pictures of our own dead. Fox news doesn’t show us the little Iraqi children with big gaping wounds across their heads, or let us hear their pitiful whimpering. I wonder how people outside America could possibly gain a positive, empathetic view of Americans. I am grateful that so many people seem to understand that a government’s actions does not always reflect the will or morals of its people.

posted by Scribbler @ Monday, October 18, 2004