from my friend, Maribeth Jones Putting the politics aside, the Bergdahl story is really about the damage to a nation’s psyche caused by a controversial war. The Bradley Manning scandal opened our eyes to an uncomfortable fact: kids sign up to serve but they don’t necessarily suspend their moral judgement in the field. The rebellious soldier is a paradox that is hard to process. On the one hand, his or her courage and concern for their nation is signposted by their uniform. On the other hand, their questioning of orders can be inferred as treachery. But if there are people back home also saying that the war is wrong and against America’s interests – is it treachery or a kind of misguided patriotism? And how do we treat those soldiers when they return home? Perhaps the simplest answer is as victims. Bowe Bergdahl should never have been in Afghanistan in the first place. Bush should never have sent him there; Obama should have brought him home sooner. War makes a Hell of mens lives. -Tim Stanley, historian
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 22:31:06 +0000
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