My heart is pounding a rapid beat. My brain is racing with
anxiety. The word came down on Monday that Specialist E-4 Ryan
Thomas King will now be leaving for Iraq. For over an hour, we
talked about what was on my mind. What was on his mind and what was
in our hearts.
My heart is pounding a rapid beat. My brain is racing with anxiety. The word came down on Monday that Specialist E-4 Ryan Thomas King will now be leaving for Iraq. For over an hour, we talked about what was on my mind. What was on his mind and what was in our hearts.
Part of me wants to cry and hold him close while another part is willing to let him go – except only if I could go with him because I decided who would fight more fiercely to protect my son, then me.
Chickens weigh about four pounds on the average, but there is nothing chicken about a mother hen when her brood is in harm’s way. Our mother hens have attacked the cats, the goats and yes, a 1,200-pound horse when they got too close the chicks. So, send in the troops and send in the moms.
But the prospect of his mother being “embedded” among the troops was more than my well-trained son could bare. “Hey wait a minute buddy,” I said. “Are you forgetting who taught you the meaning of duck and cover?”
We shared a memorable laugh, then we talked about the media coverage. During the White House briefing last Friday, a news reporter questioned press secretary Ari Fleischer whether the president watched the impacts of “Shock and Awe” on TV.
I certainly hope our president isn’t relying on CNN for updates of this war! “What,” said my soldier son, “Hasn’t she heard of the CIA!”
As a fellow reporter I was embarrassed. This woman is obviously intelligent, but certainly too vain for her own good. This reporter was offended the president wasn’t getting “his” information from the “her” media. The idea that television is the final verification on what is reality and what it means is a heady self image indeed.
Another issue my soldier son and his band of brothers have with the TV media is the way it delivers the blow-by-blow account of war casualties. “We don’t need to see any of this,” he said. “We know the risks. We know there will be casualties, and we don’t need these distractions because we need to stay focus on the task at hand.”
He’s right, do we need to know the body count? What purpose does it serve? My son feels bad enough about the innocent lives that are lost because a military leader would use his people as human shields. Any self-respecting man clearly can see they are cowards.
Speaking of cowards, where are these so-called human shields who claimed they would go to Iraq and stand in the way of our troops. Hmm, can’t stand the heat, the dust storms? Or is it the reality the bullets are real?
And isn’t it ironic, how many of these people demonstrating “peace” have done so with violence? Until Jesus Christ walks this earth and declares world peace, nations will always be in need of a military force.
I admit, my views regarding this war are bias, but if these protestors believe Iraq should handle its own affairs, then put your body where your mouth is.
I am not a news analyst, or an expert in foreign affairs, but I am a mother, and when I think of Saddam Hussein, there is one image I will never forget: A young Kurdish mother lying across the doorstep with her baby close to her breast, the last comfort zone this child and mother embraced – a porcelain image of death.
Linda Lee King is a staff writer. Her column appears every Wednesday.
