A Dangerous Question

"In it to win it," announces the bumper sticker  that is right next to the "Viet Nam veteran and proud of it" sticker that is below the monster of an American flag attached to a tall pole so that it will loudly fly from the back of a jacked-up pick-up. This giant of a vehicle could serve a whole village of peasants in Viet Nam, the place and conflict at issue here. I have to think about the mismatch of material wealth and military might between us and them. Just what were we trying to win there? And was that cause worth all the death that we acknowledge on this day of remembering, Memorial Day? Weren't the Vietnamese trying to achieve what we achieved when we revolted from England in our own revolution? Weren't they just trying to make possible a better life with more food, better homes for their children, a taste of comfort? And why were we so set on meeting that desire with immense violence and huge casualties? Today, as I honor those who have died fighting for the goals of a very wealthy, powerful, and, sometimes, unwise, nation, I have to question whether or not our ends are blind to the humanity we hold in the cross hairs, finger on the trigger.