28 November 2006
Home fronts
Ken Burns, famous for his documentaries on things like the Civil War and Baseball, is putting the finishing touches on a new piece, The War. It will air on PBS in September of 2007. Apparently, Burns focuses on the everyday people and their tales of living through the war - both on the home front and in combat. He does not spend much time on Hitler, Stalin, FDR, et. al. I found the following comments from Burns interesting, and in line with what I have been saying since 9/11:
Asked about the contrast between today's home front and World War II, Burns called the latter, "the greatest collective effort in the history of our country."
Common sacrifice is lacking today, he said.
"We now have a military class in this country that suffers apart and alone, whereas there wasn't a family on any street in America that wasn't in some way touched by the war," he said.
"When 9/11 happened what were you asked to do? Nothing. Go shopping. That's what we were told," Burns said. "Go shopping. It's ridiculous. Nobody said, 'This is a war born of oil, turn your thermostats down five degrees.' "
No matter what you feel about this war, or war in general, it is absolutely true that the sacrifice you have been asked, or not asked, to make depends entirely upon your socioeconomic standing. And that is just wrong.
¶ 10:35 AM
