What do you think? I just heard about this book: House to House http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15307306 This is a memoir from the soldier's viewpoint. An honest view of the war, not a snoozer. Maybe this is what we need to tell the public about, to get them more informed.

Thanks Marie. I for one am not tired of hearing about the war. I think it's really important for us to have news in a variety of mediums from mainstream coverage to soldier blogs and online discussion. It's what gives us global consciousness and ensures we are striving for a just and responsible society.

The war in Iraq has been a different type of war than what the history of the US is accustomed to. During World War II there was a great deal of propaganda. The citizens of the United States constantly saw inspirational billboards, Hollywood portrayals, Comic books and radio shows talking about the war and urging the nation to come together and support the War. Buy bonds, Supporting the "home front", victory gardens, rationing and women in factories. Every citizen's life who was not directly involved in the war became involved in a spectacular grouping of comradery. Then during the Vietnam War it was yet again a totally different playing field. The troops were fighting in scenarios they had never been trained in. There was a cultural expression, emotion and creativity. Youth and the fulfillment of one's youth was a major factor in pop culture. The drafts were heavy and I believe (I might be wrong) a strong opposition to the war was a new thing. Now instead of Hollywood and radio shows having pro-war propaganda it was seemingly reversed for the youth culture. The older generation who was still fresh remembering WW2 still held strong and supportive but the youth who hadn't lived through that showed their dissent through music, many strong protests and it was just once again a huge national thing. Now fast forward to 2007 (I swear I have a point here), war is something that is only a distant memory or history lesson to most people and even events like Kosovo and Bosnia really didn't get put into the media enough to bring the reality of war to the US culture. The youth went through the 80s and 90s in really what was what I believe political apathy to suddenly having something they feel about but not the practice to do things about. I see so much anti-war sentiment on the internet and wonder if it is as big as it is why is it that there isn't a huge cultural impact like there was during the Vietnam era. There was CCR, Jefferson Aeroplane, Bob Dylan and many more bands who created popular music in protest of the war, but not during this generation (though I might be wrong I'm still stuck listening to music of the 90s ^^). What I think is that we don't get enough media from the war. My older brother was in the Army during the Gulf War in the early 90s, and I can still remember even as a younger girl seeing Wolf Blitzer and Walter Cronkite talking what seemed to be nightly about the war. Watching the night vision videos of cruise missiles being fired and explosions in Baghdad. We don't see that now. I don't think the US has seen hardly as much War time coverage of this war as they did in past wars. I'm a veteran of this war, I served a couple tours in Iraq (pre and post 9/11) and I can tell you that there at least were times I felt like there was something good going on (not saying I either support or am against the war). I remember when we would do humanitarian relief all of the children, who actually knew a great deal of English. We'd play soccer with the kids, I remember having a small ice cream social for some of the kids near our ATH (air transportable hospital). It was great! Granted I was medical and I didn't have anything to do with the actual combat side of the war, but at least the humanitarian side of it I felt like I made a positive difference. Anyhow, yeah I am not sure if I clearly displayed my point or rambled but there is a bit of history of propaganda and a small bit of views and some inside views of the current war. ^^

Thanks Tia for your very thoughtful and interesting post. I do think there is a very real difference between the support shown to those in the military recently, and I believe it has to do with 9/11. That tragic event solidified the American people behind the military. I've seen a much better response now than say, during and after the Vietnam war which my brother served in. Also remember, there was a draft on during the Vietnam war. All of American culture changed because of that war. We came to realize how some wars are not justified - especially when you have service people dying. I do believe our culture, that of America, has shifted left and away from the whole "pre-emptive strike" mentality. What do you think?

Marie you really hit the nail on the head. The Vietnam war was also the first time that the citizens back home got to see that war wasn't good. It was for the first time that everyday people could see first hand in their living rooms the death and sadness that war brings. By the mid 60's television really was a heavy source of news for most families. Thus is so as well for this current war. It might have started out with a huge support after the terrible incidents of 9/11. A lot of us were scared, a lot of us never imagined such a thing to happen especially not to such a large degree and on civilian targets. At least Pearl Harbor was a military target (though still a very horrible event). As far as our culture and the "preemptive strike" to be quite frank with you, I don't believe our average citizen is thinking about military tactics. I think the thought process breaks down to three different thoughts. A. Pull out of Iraq and end the war B. "Stay the course" and finish the war on terror or C. Apathy, "It doesn't directly involve me, why should I care?"