Does the World Need More heroes like Pat Tillman?

[corporatewhore]

thought the article was very good but found the title very interesting?
why do worship soliders war death etc
http://counterpunch.com/mickey04262004.html

[patrice]

1. Because, on balance, our society is in love with death.

Psychiatry calls is thanatopsis, but there is a physical parallel in any dynamic system there is a need for polarity in order for there to be energy = Life : Death.

If there were some rational way to quantify all of the factors in a valid sample, I think we'd see some strong tendency for death (in its many manifestations) in our society. 30% Life : 70% Death . . . ? Probably not quite that bad, but more than 50 : 50 anyway.

[ithacan]

2. excellent commentary

some snips:

<snip>
There was no mention if Sears views Iraqis or Afghanis dying for what they believe in to be "a real life thing" or if that experience if reserved exclusively for Americans. There are a lot of people, like Sears, speaking for Tillman since his death but none have elaborated upon what it was he "believed in" enough to die for..except bland statements about "defending freedom" or "giving something back."
<snip>

We've all heard this kind of talk before (Does the space shuttle crash ring a bell?) but it does little except soothe Americans who want to believe in heroes. Talk of "best values," "a greater calling," and "the American dream" roll off the tongues of the average citizen but how would that same citizen react if a "war hero" came home sick from exposure to depleted uranium and decided to speak out against the U.S. government and its crimes? Would he/she still be revered for "preserving our way of life" if s/ he organized protests and boycotts and reached out in solidarity across international borders to those who have suffered from U.S. foreign policy?

We all know the answer to that last question, don't we? Tillman (or someone like him) could've chosen to "serve their country" by challenging the corporate-mandated status quo...but that's not how things work around here, is it?

<snip>
Which America was Tillman standing up for...the bosses at Halliburton or the homeless guy I see every day on the subway steps? The country personified by war criminals like Bush and Kerry? The country defined by corporate pirates? Indeed, soldiers like Tillman aren't serving the 2 million behind bars or the 2 million locked in nursing homes against their will. The actions they chose over words don't make our air or water cleaner or stop the suburban sprawl. If anything, they have the exactly opposite effect.

<more>

[corporatewhore]

5. i thoughtso too

The actions they chose over words don't make our air or water cleaner or stop the suburban sprawl. If anything, they have the exactly opposite effect.

[patrice]

3. Oh yes, I have seen the actual event called Death up close and personal.

There are some very interesting phenomena surrounding it. Perhaps in a culture that has a problem with ennui (Viagara anyone? Pills for whatever your problems are!), death fascinates us, gives meaning and value to that which we are incapable of making meaningful and valueable any longer.

Have you ever read T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men?

[denverbill]

4. Notice how it's only people who have sacrificed nothing,

who praise his sacrifice?

Mighty big of the Arizona Cardinals to name a plaza outside of the stadium 'Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza', eh? It would naturally have been a much bigger deal to rename the stadium 'Pat Tillman Stadium', but that would mean they couldn't sell naming rights to a big corporation. God forbid the NFL owners actually sacrifice any MONEY on behalf of this 'noble' war. Not their money. Not their time. Not their lives.

No sacrifice is too small for these folks not to make it.