Remembering

Sunday reflections for me always include time for remembering the men and women who have died during the current war.

Because this war has been conducted without the broad reaching national involvement that a military draft would insure, it seems to me that we go about our business without much thought about what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Current national opinion polls indicate that the number one issue of concern for Americans is the economy.

Does that strike you as odd?

I expect that the number one issue of concern for American families with family members and loved ones serving in this seemingly interminable conflict is not the economy. What do you think?

Since the war in Iraq began over five years ago, 4,144 of our troops have lost their lives in Iraq, not including casualities in Afghanistan. Over 4,000 have died since President Bush declared "mission accomplished." Over 30,000 have been wounded. Then there is the entire matter of the Iraqi war dead. Estimates range in the hundreds of thousands, including vast numbers of civilians.

Every time I open this page my eye goes instinctively to the "war cost counter" to the right. I think of the funding and how it could be spent in alternative ways. Far more valuable to us all are the lives that have been and will be lost or broken.

So, regardless of your opinion about the war, its strategy or its purpose; forgetting politics and ideology--let's just remember today those who are far away from home in a very tough place.
Possibly change will be released as we remember and reflect.

Texas Monthly: Mission Impossible

William Broyles, founding editor of Texas Monthly magazine and Vietnam vet, writes a provocative column about the continuing war in Iraq in the July 2008 issue.

Everyone should consider his words.

Check it out and tell us what you think:

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-07-01/btl.php.

Will it ever end?

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Remembering the fallen. . .

Four thousand five hundred and seventy (4,570) members of the U. S. Armed Forces have given their lives during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Something very serious to think and pray over on this beautiful Sunday in America.

The Washington Post provides a tool for this important meditation at: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/.

The loss of life, the cost of the conflict and the future of our national life--all are extremely important concerns for urban communities.

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WAR!

Check out Christopher Anderson's photo journalism presentation of the war from a photographer's perspective--in this case, war as his generation has seen it:

http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/. When you get to the site, click on the top right quarter of the splash page and watch Christopher's work.

Sand wars.

Moving.

Real.

Horrid.

Not for the faint of heart.

Reactions?

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Urban America needs this war to end

I care about the cities of our nation.

Millions and millions of us call the city home.

Cities concentrate both amazing opportunity and staggering difficulty.

The inner cities of our nation need renewal.

Renewal costs.

At present, funds are drying up for housing, public and higher education, health care, nutrition, infrastructure maintenance and development, employment training and many other necessities of life and growth.

Our inner city communities need help, leadership and new life--the kind of investment that could lift an entire generation of youth out of poverty and onto a new path.

What I have in mind is a "Marshall Plan-type" approach that could break the cycles of generational poverty that continue to devastate our children.

As a nation, we were actually making progress in this direction.

Then came the war.

The cost of the Iraq War staggers the imagination. You can watch a running tabulation of the soaring costs at: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Cost-of-War/Cost-of-War-3.html. You'll also be able to see the comparative costs as to what these expenditures could purchase in other, much needed services and capital improvements.

Last night we watched the destruction continue, the loss of life, the crippling injuries. . .now inside the "Green Zone" of security.

I find the costs, the rationale and our approach in this conflict bizarre and bewildering from start to finish.

It is time for this war to end, for the incredible spending to stop for the sake of our children, our cities and our national future.

More than 4,000 American dead. Tens of thousands wounded. And this, before we count the Iraqis--and yes, they count too.

The Iraq war should end. Our safety and security as a people would be better served for the next generation if we would turn our attention toward improving life in our urban centers.

The costs are far too high to justify taking even one more step in the current direction.

Our cities need the war to end.

Our children and our grandchildren deserve better.

The cost to our urban centers in terms of the loss of American lives will forever remain inestimable.

It is time that people of faith and moral courage speak up.

Urban America needs this war to end.

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5 young lives

Sports Illustrated columnist, Rick Reilly is a must-read for me each week.

Reilly is funny, smart, creative and a great writer.

I love the stuff he turns up. Even more, I love his take on almost any subject he addresses.

What follows is a column from the February 5, 2007 issue of SI.

It seems just right for this particular July 4th, a day that for me this year is a time of serious reflection and questioning.

As you will see, his subject matter here is extremely serious.

But you know, it is long past time for us to pay serious attention.
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You up for a challenge?

I'm going to tell you about five young Americans at the peak of their athletic lives. Your job is to guess how all five lives came together in the past month.

One. As usual, Elizabeth Loncki is acting very unladylike, just the way she likes it. It's 2001, she's 18 and she's challenging her dad to a push-up contest. He just did 50, but now Elizabeth is hitting 51.

He could've done 100, and she would've done 101. That's how she is. A 5'5" Energizer Bunny, she's the furnace that heats the volleyball team at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del. She's the darling of the weight room wherever she works out, spotting guys twice her size.

She also reads to shut-ins and runs errands for seniors. And seems like twice a week, she'll get up early so she can get balloons for somebody at school. Just don't try calling her "sweet."

Two. Brian (Cap'n) Freeman is about to become one of the best in the world at something he never thought he'd even try -- bobsledding.

A burly brakeman from the virtually snowless town of Temecula, Calif., Freeman digs in, grunts and pushes the U.S. to a bronze medal at the 2002 America's Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y. But Freeman isn't just the piston for his sled team, he's also the soul of it -- willing to push for drivers other than his own, just to give them a chance to develop with a few more runs.

"A total team guy," says Steven Holcomb, the current World Cup bobsled points leader. "I wouldn't be where I am today without Brian."

Three. If you'd been there when Shawn Falter was a toddler, with those massive braces on both legs, you wouldn't believe what you're seeing now, as the senior leads his 1998-99 Homer (N.Y.) High basketball team. No longer pigeon-toed, he's blocking shots, rebounding like a man on a caffeine drip, scoring when it's needed and setting up teammates the rest of the time.

That's nothing. You should see him on the football field, scoring TDs at tight end and trying to decapitate receivers at safety. And all while being skinnier than a one-iron.

"All heart," marvels Jeff Tabel, who was his hoops coach. "Born to lead."

Four. Luis Castillo isn't just a good wrestler, he's the captain of the 2003-04 team at Mattawan (Mich.) High. Wait! He's not just the captain, he's the winner of the team's leadership award.

And wrestling is only where it starts. He's a break-dancing, bungee-jumping, joke-telling machine in a crew cut. "The all-American kid," the grown-ups call him. And it makes you wonder: How many people know he was born in Mexico?

Five. It's 2000, and 17-year-old Jason Corbett takes his mark at the ancient Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. The timer is ready and -- bang! -- Corbett's off. Of course, there's no official time for his run because there's nobody in the stands and it's his buddy holding the watch.

He's not in a track meet, he's on a trip with some Casper, Wyo., high school classmates. But, hey, that's not going to stop Corbett from running or having a good time. Nothing stops Corbett. He swallows life whole -- track, snowboarding, fly-fishing and hunting. The kid has all the warning signs of a thrillaholic and loves anything to do with the outdoors. Maybe that's why he ended up in the only place big enough for him: Alaska.

So what do these five athletes have in common? They were all killed in Iraq during a two-week period in January.

Air Force Senior Airman Loncki, 23, was killed by a car bomb near Al-Mahmudiyah.

Army Captain Freeman, 31, was killed by insurgents disguised as American soldiers in Karbala.

Army Private First Class Falter, 25, died as a result of that same ambush.

Marine Lance Corporal Castillo, 20, died from wounds suffered while on patrol in Al Anbar province.

Army Specialist Corbett, 23, died of injuries from small-arms fire suffered while on patrol in Karmah.

Five athletes.

Five futures.

All gone.

Five of 84 Americans killed from New Year's Day through Sunday. Five of 3,084 Americans killed since the war began.

Athletes love teams, and when they run out of sports teams they sometimes join bigger teams, ones with Humvees for huddles and tombstones for trophies and coaches they've never met sending them into a hell they never imagined.

And they throw their whole selves into it anyway, because they are brave and disciplined and will chew through concrete to win the game.

But what if the game can't be won?