I had an ear-opening discussion recently with a pacifist mother-of-two who was surprised to discover I was formerly in the armed forces. She inquired about the ‘extent’ of my ‘involvement’ in the war, rather the ‘nature’ of my ‘commitment’ to the campaign while I was deployed; in short, had I killed anyone and how did [...]
Archive for June, 2006
The Soldier and The Civilian -A Tale of Co-masochism and Self-Proclaimed Innocence
Posted in Dan Black Posts on June 18, 2006 | 1 Comment »
Violence as Language: An Interpretation of Exchanges Between Americans and Arabs
Posted in Dan Black Posts on June 13, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Headlines appearing in this morning’s newspapers accounted recent events whose details are all too familiar: Death in the Middle East. To suggest that Zarqawi’s death would not diminish the vigor and audacity of the insurgency’s engagement of coalition forces, al Qaeda felt it necessary to substantiate thought with action. Label this action not as merely [...]
Illuminant Defiance vs. Blind Obedience: One Brave Man Stands Against Cowardly Masses
Posted in Dan Black Posts on June 8, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
A truth as discomforting as it is thought-provoking: the U.S. Army stands to court martial 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for refusing deployment orders to Iraq. Whether or not this escalates into a much-needed critical examination of the conflict Operation Iraqi Freedom (O.I.F.) and its merits will be revealed only as events unfold, but the ugly [...]
