The American military men and women who were killed at Fort Hood were given an appropriate national memorial service. One could not miss the event because it was widely covered in the media. One could not avoid feeling sad and deeply moved.
As I observed the extended news coverage of the Texas tragedy and memorial, I could not help but think about the very limited coverage of the thousands of tragic deaths of our military men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Coverage of their coming home has been considered off limits because invading their families’ privacy would be improper.
I hope the publicity of the Texas slaughter will not be used as an excuse to inflame Americans to support more warring in the Middle East where our courageous men and women in uniform continue to die and be maimed violently, yet quietly and remote from our consciousness due to minimal news coverage.
This article appears in Dec 3-10, 2009.
