Grace
Soldiers from 150 years ago display the grace of silent, still memory. Today, America is thinking about another war. It will not be our men who die. We will direct our high tech weapons to coordinates on a screen. We will not hear the women and children scream. We will not be at risk, except for damage to our national soul. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. They are Union Soldiers from the War Between the States. That war was not fought with unmanned aircraft.
Chamblee54 
As a fan of the Civil War (for the history, not the bloodshed!), I love this. I’m not a big fan of politics, though, so that bit doesn’t appeal to me as much. But a good point is made in the contrast.
Thanks for stopping by. I have to wonder about being a fan of war, without politics or bloodshed. As Carl von Clausewitz said “War is merely the continuation of politics by other means.” Thank you wikiquotes.
Incredibly powerful statement, beautifully done. Your words are undeniably true, no matter what way they are looked at, and are very important words.
All those sad troubled eyes. I love what you wrote. Hey lookee us! We’re a video game! I don’t think our “nation” even has a soul anymore.
I read and study a lot from the time period. Being born and raised in the south but definitely a Red String Theorist, I always wonder if I could see the truth of what happened back then in the pictures of soldiers like this.
I really enjoyed what you did here.
I downloaded sixty pictures from a LOC collection of WBTS soldiers. They are very labor intensive, with a lot of touching up required. I should have a few more galleries in the next few weeks, along with some reruns from last year. This is one of my favorite LOC collections. This is the collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/ The images are public domain, if anyone else wants to use them.
I was reminded of this song by what you wrote :
http://grooveshark.com/s/The+Bravery+Of+Being+Out+Of+Range/4x7S2H?src=5
(And yes, the background singer IS Rita Coolidge…)
You have a natural tendency
To squeeze off a shot
You’re good fun at parties
You wear the right masks
You’re old but you still
Like a laugh in the locker room
You can’t abide change
You’re at home on the range
You opened your suitcase
Behind the old workings
To show off the magnum
You deafened the canyon
A comfort a friend
Only upstaged in the end
By the Uzi machine gun
Does the recoil remind you
Remind you of sex
Old man what the hell you gonna kill next
Old timer who you gonna kill next
I looked over Jordan and what did I see
Saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris
I swam in your pools
And lay under your palm trees
I looked in the eyes of the Indian
Who lay on the Federal Building steps
And through the range finder over the hill
I saw the front line boys popping their pills
Sick of the mess they find
On their desert stage
And the bravery of being out of range
Yeah the question is vexed
Old man what the hell you gonna kill next
Old timer who you gonna kill next
Hey bartender over here
Two more shots
And two more beers
Sir turn up the TV sound
The war has started on the ground
Just love those laser guided bombs
They’re really great
For righting wrongs
You hit the target
And win the game
From bars 3,000 miles away
3,000 miles away
We play the game
With the bravery of being out of range
We zap and maim
With the bravery of being out of range
We strafe the train
With the bravery of being out of range
We gain terrain
With the bravery of being out of range
With the bravery of being out of range
We play the game
With the bravery of being out of range
Strong and sincere. Kudos.
I think it is very cavalier of the leaders of any country to rattle their sabers and commit their youth to foreign policy, sacrificing them as a matter of honor when it is exactly the opposite. I agree that using unmanned devices is no more honorable, because death will follow, in the land that is attacked.
Yes. I’m not sure that being able to attack another country with no risk to your own military’s lives is really anything to be proud of. That’s just my POV, of course. These photos are haunting, thank you for sharing them and using them to accompany your thoughts.
Really powerful, and the photos are so haunting.
Powerful and poignant!
“damage to our national soul” = great turn of phrase. Love how you’ve used the prompt and pictures. Nice impact whether you agree politically or not.