Many Americans woke up yesterday thinking it was just another day. They drove to work listening to their talk radio, drinking coffee, going through the same patterned routine they call life. For other Americans, especially Marines we were aware that 67 years ago; March 26, we captured Iwo Jima, marking one of the greatest victories in Marine Corps history. I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that many of you were unaware of this. So what does that say about this country? To know who you are you have to understand where you have been. Doesn't America shout the claim that we are a prideful nation? Having recently come home from a combat zone in Marjah, Afghanistan you would not be able to tell this is a country at war by looking around. So I ask, where have all the flags gone? Where have the simple yellow ribbon magnets that say "support our troops" gone? Are the people of America just as fake as the celebrities they idolize?
I can understand that as a nation we are tired of being at war. It has been such an ongoing process that it is no longer fresh in the minds of media reporters or people that do not have family serving. However, is it not our job as a country to constantly support the active duty military members, veterans, and family of all related? If the country is tired of being at war why have we not taken a stand against the government? We all know what happened during Vietnam, do we not?
Many Americans get their news about what is going on in the world from the media. At the start of OIF and OEF the way these wars were broadcasted were drastically different compared to previous wars. During Vietnam every day on the news were images of the war, images of hundreds of soldiers in caskets with American flags draped over them. These disturbing images were on the news and in peoples faces, causing a social uprising. Very soon after the beginning of the Iraqi War these images, in light comparison, were no longer shown on the news in order to prevent a similar reaction. This is just one example of how America is attempting to control how we feel as a nation about the war.
Think back to September 12, 2001. Over the next few months American flags sales were at an all time high. The nation was joined as one and shared a similar goal. You couldn't pass a suburban housing development, or a strip of local businesses without see an American flag every 10 feet. On your morning commute to work as you sat in bumper to bumper traffic you could see stickers and magnets pasted all over the back windows of vehicles. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. So I ask you America, where have all the flags gone.
follow me @jmoore0421
