Deadly Medicine

I have talked about going to the Texas Tech Museum to see the traveling exhibit "Deadly Medicine" http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/traveling/details/index.php?content=deadly_medicine&type=current from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  I went today to hear a guided tour.  The tour was okay, and then I went through part of the exhibit. I did not complete it due to time constraints, and am hoping to return, maybe even tomorrow, to complete it. There is a LOT of information in this fairly small exhibit. It is in Lubbock until August 7, 2011, so there is time. And, it travels elsewhere around the country, including Boston.

The sadness of this exhibit is that we do not learn:  since World War II, there have been so many incidents of genocide in Europe, Asia and Africa.  The United States was slow to desegregate the Afro-Americans, and even slower to elevate the Native Americans to a respected group.  We still have racism, and we still have prejudice, lessons we have not learned from our own history and the history of the world.  We are trying. I can not say how much better we are doing. Many of the women in one of my book discussion clubs thinks we are treating Muslims much the same.  In many ways, I agree. 

I think we have some personal and political hysteria that every Muslim is bad, and we are vulnerable to attack from them.  Lubbock has a mosque, and on multiple occasions, it has been vandalized. http://lubbockonline.com/stories/102606/loc_102606030.shtml The community as a whole despairs at these attacks, but obviously, they have happened.  Many of the larger Christian churches in the community, after 9-11-2001, spent Sunday School time studying Islam.  That is such an enlightened response to that attack, it made me proud. 

I have learned some about Islam as many prisoners are Islamic. And, I am just interested in being more aware and open minded, if I can be, and education helps.

So, I am grateful to be able to view the "Deadly Medicine" display. I am grateful to learn about more about the horrors I of which I already knew, so maybe I can be more mindful if dignity, respect, civil and human rights as I deal with disenfranchised people in the course of my life.  I am grateful to keep alive the message we must work to stop people from going there again. 

Changing Plans

I had an plan to attend a mystery reading book last night.  I even read the book.  But I also had the opportunity to attend a lecture about the Roma,  "The Genocide of the Roma in the Holocaust," lecture by Ian Hancock, at the Museum of Texas Tech University http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people.   Do you know who the Roma are?  I have heard about gypsies before, and occasionally in writings, I have heard characters described as of Romany decent. But I never really understood what that was referring to.  I knew they were dark, and often described as swarthy.  But beyond that, I did not understand.  I also knew that Hitler and the Nazi regime wanted to eliminate them along with the Jews.  I had no idea how widespread they were. I went to the lecture. It opened a new part of the world to me, something I had little, peripheral information about.  Wow!  That was really exciting.

The lecturer last night explained how the people were from the Indian subcontinent, and how they eventually settled in Europe.  He talked about how they are very clannish, and do not encourage education. He also talked about how they do not usually identify themselves in public. He made a distinction between the Roma, and the Irish gypsies who are Irish and travel in wagons, hence the name gypsy.  He said the Roma were called Gypsies, because people thought they originally came from Egypt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_people;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people. These articles explain about the Roma. They are consistent with what the speaker said last night. He is a college professor, and he is a Roma.

Sink the Bismark

The other day, I heard the Johnny Horton song Sink the Bismark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU and realized that I had not seen the movie in some time. I like World War II movies, and thought that it might be a good movie to see in the near future.

Today, I was browsing Netflix, and the movie Sink the Bismark http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054310/ was available for instant play. Well, how could I ignore that coincidence. I could not. So, today, I watched the movie.

Learning from the Past

This past week, the book group discussed The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.  There were many different themes in the book, but one was that two of the three main female characters violated their work ethics due to very extra-ordinary circumstances, precipitated by war.  One of the characters in the book said "Pay attention."  Well, this leads me to think that we do NOT pay attention, We do not learn from our past, and we repeat our mistakes over and over again. And many of our mistakes precipitate war, or prolong war.  What is wrong with us?

Veteran's Day or Armistice Day

World War I:  The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month:  Armistice for World War I...

This was the war to end all wars...

But then, World War II...

Now, we celebrate Veteran's Day as November 11... Formerly Armistice Day.  We commemorate the Veterans who have served. I hope we pay them homage that is appropriate.

Our nation has become more aware of commemorating, celebrating, and just plain acknowledging the people of our nation who serve in the Armed Services.  We can not thank them enough for what they do..

One day a year is not enough... If you know a veteran, let them know how much you appreciate them...

Flags

Saturday morning, a friend and I joined the Audubon birdwatching group at the City of Lubbock Cemetery http://cemetery.ci.lubbock.tx.us/ .  As we waited for the group, the cemetery manager joined us and apologized for the Confederate Flag that flew over the Civil War Monument.  He explained that there were Union soldiers mentioned on the monument, and there was a group that came out and put out Confederate flags on the graves of the Confederate Soldiers.

We reassured him that that was not an issue for us, and that we were bird watching.  My personal thoughts on this issue is that I have enough respect, that I can and will respect the fallen soldiers on both sides of that war.  Having visited Gettysburg http://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm and Vicksburg http://www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm I will say that I can honor the fallen on both sides of the war, and I am scarred by the horrors of the history of war that I saw.  It makes me believe even more that war is not the answer, communication and cooperation is the answer.

The cemetery manager mentioned the Memorial Day ceremony and a friend and I both said that this year, we wanted to attend.  He commented that this ceremonyhad only occurred for the last 7 or 8 years. I try to keep in touch with what happens in the city, and he is right: except for a few private church ceremonies, the city of Lubbock did not have a ceremony for Memorial Day until the last few years. So sad.

Where I grew up, we had a parade, a gun shot salute, Taps, and flags at the cemetery.

The ceremony today included the information that the City of Lubbock had about 3000 veterans, including 3 Medal of Honor recipients... After the ceremony, the Girl and Boy Scout troops helped to put out flags. The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America were sung. The Marine contingency did the gun salute, the County Sheriff's Department presented the colors (the flag.) We drove around the cemetery, while the scouts were putting out flags.

Tonight, I went back to the cemetery on my way to go kayaking in the same general area.  There were no flags to speak of in the cemetery... There were a  few that were obviously privately placed on tombstones, but beyond that, there were no American flags nor Confederate flags.

I am not sure what to think about that. 

I am interested in your comments.

A Sickening Sensation

We had a gathering at work today, and the talk turned to the various ways our country shows support for the military. And there are many, personal, and corporate...It is amazing and touching.  It made my heart swell.  And it makes me proud to be an American!

Talk then turned to the difference between the way it is now, and how very different it was during the Vietnam War Era.  We talked about the civil rights climate, the political climate, the way minorities were funneled into the military, the way rank vs. soldiers were treated and behaved.
We also talked about how the returning soldiers were not supported or respected.

I am typing this now quite calmly, but as we discussed these things, I had a visceral reaction that included a churning stomach and weakness in my knees... The physical symptoms persisted for several hours, including an upset stomach for quite some time.

It was amazing to me that the younger members of our group did not have a sense of the political and emotional climate of the times.  But, I am sure I did not have that sense of the 50s or 40s or the Depression Era...

I had no idea I would react like that... I do not think of that era often, and I guess I know why.



Years ago, my 6th grade class asked a member to ask his father if he would talk to us about his experiences on Iwo Jima, when we studied World War II.  His response was there are some things you do not talk about.  When my uncle, who was in the Navy during World War II, was asked about what he did in the war, he would say "I went to England."  After his death, we found a commendation letter for his efforts during D-Day, signed by Admiral Nimitz. 

I have to think it is true, that real soldiers do not want war.  They know the horrors of war.

watching war

I have been watching war movies a great deal lately. It might be about the United States Independence Day celebration, it might be about what is available to watch, it is definitely about what I have the patience to sit through.



Why do I have the patience to sit through the particular selections I have seen? I think it is about being in foxholes: when human beings experience very difficult conditions, they experience a connection or tie with those around them.. Recently having posted about this "connection" experience, maybe the connections I see in the movies are important to me right now....


Most specifically, I have watched the majority of the segments of "The Revolution." One of the connections that touched me was how did these men come up with the idea of this new country? How did they put it together to make it work. I know there was some trial and error, but still, how did this come to pass?


Additionally, how did they dare? There was no governmental superstructure that compelled them to join an army and rebel...Once the army was formed, what made people join; and amidst all the deprivation, what made people stay?


I forget that the war lasted for as long as it did: The Boston Tea Party was in 1773, the actual armed conflict began in April, 1775, with the final real battle at Yorktown in 1781. It took two more years before the peace negotiations were finalized, and the British finally left New York City in 1783. Of course, some of the elongation of these events had to do with the distances involved and the time it took to travel those distances...And the seasonality of conflict. But six years of armed hostilities is a long, long time....


The second series I saw, for not the first time, was "Band of Brothers," based on the European theater during World War II... As you recall, although the hostilities began in 1939, the United States did not actually enter the war until late 1941. The fighting in Europe was horrendous, and many people, soldiers and civiilian survivors, returned from war deeply scarred. As I grew up, I recall not always hearing about the horrors of war, but about the commraderie that was present between the troops. There was much made of the lasting bonds, if not lasting friendships, between soldiers. We know, from psychological studies, that sharing times of privation can cement, if not actually create, those bonds.... Those bonds were celebrated, not as positives about the war, but positives about the human spirit.


And, most recently, I watched "Letters from Iwo Jima." It is said that it is a better movie than "Flags of Our Fathers," and I would agree. While "Flags" was a good story, well told, it was not as gripping nor personal as "Letters from Iwo Jima." Nor did the "heros" have quite the depth and quality of character that the Japanese soldiers portrayed. "Flags" is a good reminder that our country sometimes makes heros and then tosses them aside, ready for the next hero. And, good reminder that what this country values in its heros is not always the stuff of a prolonged admiration.

The characters portrayed in "Letters" however, were portrayed as much more thoughtful about their role and duty. Not every soldier wanted to be present. Not every person was violent for violence sake. But they were engaged in a solemn, patriotic duty no matter the prospect for the outcome. Sometimes, when I see stories about Americans, it seems they enter into the thick of things only when they have an almost false sense of unreal optimism about the outcome.


There was no such false optimism during The American Revolution. There was no such false optimism during The War Between the North and the South, another war of bitter privation and tribulation, pitting families against each other, as well as governing entities of one nation....



I am troubled, however, by some of the more recent undertakings by the United States government: War seems to be initiated for reasons of a dubious nature. Leaders show little moral character. Troops are not expected to behave with moral character... There is no apparent plan for completion and peace except what appears to be a plan for total destruction of a way of life, and oh, by the way, we need to reinstate the natives and we can not totally destroy them, their country and their way of life...


And, we do not take care of our heroes: the fighting soldiers are not as well equipped as they need to be, and the returning soldiers, especially the wounded, are sometimes having to struggle to be tended to... Is the gratitude of a country, in the form of "GI" benefits, a thing of the past? Apparently, so....


I do appreciate the stories of connectedness, camaraderie, character.


So, why do I watch war... I think we learn from our history and our past, and I am trying to find some sense about why hostilities.... what makes heroes.... what is our destiny? But, why do I watch war?