Patriotism? Combat?
It is Monday morning and I am looking forward to a visit by my 12-year old adopted nephew, Paul who has, what seems to be yet another day off from school while teachers attend training. Of course, I am always happy to see one of my nieces or nephews. It is treat to live next door to Paul and his sister, my adopted six-year old niece, Sam.
I know that Paul already had breakfast with his mom, dad and sister, but will want a snack and hot chocolate later. Fortunately, I have gotten smart enough in my old age to bake dozens of chocolate chip cookies which I keep in the freezer.
As I look out the kitchen window I see that he is on his way.
Me: Good morning Paul. How was your weekend?
Paul: Good morning Uncle Jim. He gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
(I am, of course, hopeful that he will not have to go through that developmental stage of being shy about showing affection. Both his dad and I are very affectionate as are both of his grandfathers.)
Me: Do you want anything to drink Paul.
Paul: Maybe just a glass of water for now Uncle Jim.
I get that for him,
Paul: Uncle Jim will you help me with my homework assignment?
Me: I will sure try Paul. What is your assignment?
Paul: Let me read it Uncle Jim. “Be prepared to discuss whether pilots dropping a bomb from a plane or people directing a drone to drop bombs should be considered combat troops.”
Me: Goodness, that is an interesting topic. Good for your teacher for suggesting it. Have you done any research yet, Paul?
Paul: Well, I asked mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, mamma and pop pop.
Me: That is a great way to do start a research project Paul. What did they say?
Paul: Well, mom said that if someone intentionally dropped a bomb on our house or a nearby house from a plane or a drone it would feel like a war related combat. Dad said that military officials and several presidents have said it was not. Grandma said when all those people in Japan died from our nuclear bomb no family member still living cared whether or not we call it combat. A lot of people died. Grandpa said, …. Now I am getting confused by I recorded the answer on my phone. Shall I play it Uncle Jim?
Me: That was smart of you Paul. Yes, play it.
Paul: Okay, Uncle Jim. Here it is: Grandpa is first.
(Grandpa): You know Paul that my father and mother both talked about how frightening it was to be in London when bombs were being dropped. They spent a lot of time in bomb shelters. It certainly felt like combat to them. They did not have drones but I think it would have felt the same.
(Mamma): Your great grandparents, my parents, were in France during World War II. Planes with bombs were a part of combat from the beginning of the war.
(Pop Pop): I think that we humans try to convince ourselves that as long as we cannot see how human the other person is the easier it is to kill them. I suspect it is easy to just think about dropping bombs on people we call the enemy. If we have to see them then it is more difficult. I recall friends telling me that the hardest part part of combat was finding family photos on the body of someone they just killed. It makes them too much like them. I think drones makes it even easier to forget that we are trying to kill people like us.
Me: Goodness. What do you think after hearing those answers?
Paul: I am still confused Uncle Jim. The other day we were listening to NPR and someone was saying that we dropped bombs in Libya but we would never use combat troops. That really confused me. I asked Dad and mom why we were dropping bombs in Libya?
Me: What did your parents say Paul?
Paul: They said the the military people were saying that there were IS people in Libya training to attack the United States.
Me: What do you think of that Paul?
Paul: Well, mom, dad and I started looking up more information on the internet. We found on bbc.com:
“Libya's internationally recognized government, based in the east of the country, was also angered by the US raid.
It said in a statement on Saturday that the attack had not been co-ordinated with Libyan authorities and was "a clear and flagrant violation of sovereignty of the Libyan state".” That is confusing Uncle Jim.
Me: I think that they are saying that they think that dropping bombs in their country is wrong.
What else did you find out Paul?
Paul: Well, let’s see. We found out that a William Blum wrote a book called “Rogue State” about all the countries the United States has bombed since World War II It was a long list Uncle Jim. It seems like nearly everyone thinks bombing is combat Uncle Jim. What would our leaders say it is not?
Me: Well, Paul, I think for a long time we in the United States have convinced ourselves that we are the good people trying to keep bad people from hurting others.
Paul: I thought that people we call the bad people say that we are the bad people Uncle Jim. In school we studied about planes hitting the Pentagon and buildings in New York. The Untied States got very angry. Did we see that as combat Uncle Jim? Would we have felt different it the bomb were carried by drones?
Me: We certainly seem to think that it was an act of war which I think fall under the definition of combat. Did you look up the definition of combat Paul?
Paul: Yes. The Oxford dictionary said that that combat was: “fighting or a fight, especially during a time of war.”
Me: So when someone drops a bomb here we think it is fighting and even an act of war but when we do it it is because we are going after the bad people. It does not seem as if it would matter if a drone or a plane dropped a bomb.
Paul: It sure sounds like that Uncle Jim.
Me: Ready for a break? How about some hot chocolate and cookies Paul?
Paul: Yes. My head hurts Uncle Jim
Me: Mine too. Get your apron on and I will get on the ingredients.
Paul gets his apron off the hook and I tie it for him. Then I get out the pan, cocoa, sugar, salt, vanilla and milk. Paul has done this often enough that he remembers how much of each to put in the pan. He does so and begin to stir. In the meantime, I have turned on the heat. While he stirs I put away the ingredients and get up cups and the marshmallows. I also get the cookies from the freezer. We both like to dunk the frozen cookies in the hot chocolate.
Paul: Thanks Uncle Jim.
I pour the hot chocolate in the cups and Paul adds a generous bunch of the miniature marshmallows.
Paul: Yummy Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim while do our heads hurt when we are talking about something confusing?
Me: Well, I think that we are trying so hard to think that our head gets all tense like this. I tense up my face and head so that he can see my squinched up eyes and wrinkled forehead.
Paul: Oh that looks painful Uncle Jim
Me: Yes, I think we both unconsciously do that we are thinking really hard.
Paul: I think I am more confused than ever Uncle Jim.
Me: Well,perhaps we only learn and change behavior when we are get confused Paul. When we think we know the answers there is no reason to try to learn more is there?
Paul: I guess not Uncle Jim. Yes, sometimes it sounds like our President and all the military people and all the people who want to be presidents know the answers.
Me: I agree. It does sound like that and I can see why it is tempting to believe one of them, but it is not that clear to me.
Paul: Me either. Do you think we could just type out some to the questions so that I could take them to class Uncle Jim.
Me: We sure could Paul. As soon as we finish our hot chocolate we will do that.
Paul: Thanks Uncle Jim
Me: You are welcome, Paul.
Written February 22, 2016
It is Monday morning and I am looking forward to a visit by my 12-year old adopted nephew, Paul who has, what seems to be yet another day off from school while teachers attend training. Of course, I am always happy to see one of my nieces or nephews. It is treat to live next door to Paul and his sister, my adopted six-year old niece, Sam.
I know that Paul already had breakfast with his mom, dad and sister, but will want a snack and hot chocolate later. Fortunately, I have gotten smart enough in my old age to bake dozens of chocolate chip cookies which I keep in the freezer.
As I look out the kitchen window I see that he is on his way.
Me: Good morning Paul. How was your weekend?
Paul: Good morning Uncle Jim. He gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
(I am, of course, hopeful that he will not have to go through that developmental stage of being shy about showing affection. Both his dad and I are very affectionate as are both of his grandfathers.)
Me: Do you want anything to drink Paul.
Paul: Maybe just a glass of water for now Uncle Jim.
I get that for him,
Paul: Uncle Jim will you help me with my homework assignment?
Me: I will sure try Paul. What is your assignment?
Paul: Let me read it Uncle Jim. “Be prepared to discuss whether pilots dropping a bomb from a plane or people directing a drone to drop bombs should be considered combat troops.”
Me: Goodness, that is an interesting topic. Good for your teacher for suggesting it. Have you done any research yet, Paul?
Paul: Well, I asked mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, mamma and pop pop.
Me: That is a great way to do start a research project Paul. What did they say?
Paul: Well, mom said that if someone intentionally dropped a bomb on our house or a nearby house from a plane or a drone it would feel like a war related combat. Dad said that military officials and several presidents have said it was not. Grandma said when all those people in Japan died from our nuclear bomb no family member still living cared whether or not we call it combat. A lot of people died. Grandpa said, …. Now I am getting confused by I recorded the answer on my phone. Shall I play it Uncle Jim?
Me: That was smart of you Paul. Yes, play it.
Paul: Okay, Uncle Jim. Here it is: Grandpa is first.
(Grandpa): You know Paul that my father and mother both talked about how frightening it was to be in London when bombs were being dropped. They spent a lot of time in bomb shelters. It certainly felt like combat to them. They did not have drones but I think it would have felt the same.
(Mamma): Your great grandparents, my parents, were in France during World War II. Planes with bombs were a part of combat from the beginning of the war.
(Pop Pop): I think that we humans try to convince ourselves that as long as we cannot see how human the other person is the easier it is to kill them. I suspect it is easy to just think about dropping bombs on people we call the enemy. If we have to see them then it is more difficult. I recall friends telling me that the hardest part part of combat was finding family photos on the body of someone they just killed. It makes them too much like them. I think drones makes it even easier to forget that we are trying to kill people like us.
Me: Goodness. What do you think after hearing those answers?
Paul: I am still confused Uncle Jim. The other day we were listening to NPR and someone was saying that we dropped bombs in Libya but we would never use combat troops. That really confused me. I asked Dad and mom why we were dropping bombs in Libya?
Me: What did your parents say Paul?
Paul: They said the the military people were saying that there were IS people in Libya training to attack the United States.
Me: What do you think of that Paul?
Paul: Well, mom, dad and I started looking up more information on the internet. We found on bbc.com:
“Libya's internationally recognized government, based in the east of the country, was also angered by the US raid.
It said in a statement on Saturday that the attack had not been co-ordinated with Libyan authorities and was "a clear and flagrant violation of sovereignty of the Libyan state".” That is confusing Uncle Jim.
Me: I think that they are saying that they think that dropping bombs in their country is wrong.
What else did you find out Paul?
Paul: Well, let’s see. We found out that a William Blum wrote a book called “Rogue State” about all the countries the United States has bombed since World War II It was a long list Uncle Jim. It seems like nearly everyone thinks bombing is combat Uncle Jim. What would our leaders say it is not?
Me: Well, Paul, I think for a long time we in the United States have convinced ourselves that we are the good people trying to keep bad people from hurting others.
Paul: I thought that people we call the bad people say that we are the bad people Uncle Jim. In school we studied about planes hitting the Pentagon and buildings in New York. The Untied States got very angry. Did we see that as combat Uncle Jim? Would we have felt different it the bomb were carried by drones?
Me: We certainly seem to think that it was an act of war which I think fall under the definition of combat. Did you look up the definition of combat Paul?
Paul: Yes. The Oxford dictionary said that that combat was: “fighting or a fight, especially during a time of war.”
Me: So when someone drops a bomb here we think it is fighting and even an act of war but when we do it it is because we are going after the bad people. It does not seem as if it would matter if a drone or a plane dropped a bomb.
Paul: It sure sounds like that Uncle Jim.
Me: Ready for a break? How about some hot chocolate and cookies Paul?
Paul: Yes. My head hurts Uncle Jim
Me: Mine too. Get your apron on and I will get on the ingredients.
Paul gets his apron off the hook and I tie it for him. Then I get out the pan, cocoa, sugar, salt, vanilla and milk. Paul has done this often enough that he remembers how much of each to put in the pan. He does so and begin to stir. In the meantime, I have turned on the heat. While he stirs I put away the ingredients and get up cups and the marshmallows. I also get the cookies from the freezer. We both like to dunk the frozen cookies in the hot chocolate.
Paul: Thanks Uncle Jim.
I pour the hot chocolate in the cups and Paul adds a generous bunch of the miniature marshmallows.
Paul: Yummy Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim while do our heads hurt when we are talking about something confusing?
Me: Well, I think that we are trying so hard to think that our head gets all tense like this. I tense up my face and head so that he can see my squinched up eyes and wrinkled forehead.
Paul: Oh that looks painful Uncle Jim
Me: Yes, I think we both unconsciously do that we are thinking really hard.
Paul: I think I am more confused than ever Uncle Jim.
Me: Well,perhaps we only learn and change behavior when we are get confused Paul. When we think we know the answers there is no reason to try to learn more is there?
Paul: I guess not Uncle Jim. Yes, sometimes it sounds like our President and all the military people and all the people who want to be presidents know the answers.
Me: I agree. It does sound like that and I can see why it is tempting to believe one of them, but it is not that clear to me.
Paul: Me either. Do you think we could just type out some to the questions so that I could take them to class Uncle Jim.
Me: We sure could Paul. As soon as we finish our hot chocolate we will do that.
Paul: Thanks Uncle Jim
Me: You are welcome, Paul.
Written February 22, 2016
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