Comments on: End War, Starting with Education

By: Diana

Diana — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:46:04 +0000

Evan,
I’ve always thought you had a lot of guts to have that car. Sorry that some spineless weenie did what they did. That video by that kid Ethan is great,(“Don’t you ever watch the Daily Show?” lol)
Thanks for the post. I join you in daring BC to “start a car” like he mentioned in comment # 8.

By: Suza

Suza — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:00:31 +0000

Stunning Statistics About the War Every American Should Know
Contrary to popular belief, the US actually has 189,000 personnel on the ground in Afghanistan right now—and that number is quickly rising.
A hearing in Sen. Claire McCaskill’s Contract Oversight subcommittee on contracting in Afghanistan has highlighted some important statistics that provide a window into the extent to which the Obama administration has picked up the Bush-era war privatization baton and sprinted with it. Overall, contractors now comprise a whopping 69% of the Department of Defense’s total workforce, “the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel in US history.” That’s not in one war zone-that’s the Pentagon in its entirety.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/18-2

By: evan austin

evan austin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:10:13 +0000

Brian, the phrase “well aware [of] what they [are] signing up for” is VAST and full of gaping holes…no need to go any further, although i’ll grant you that a draftless military/culture is quite different.
Start a car, i dare you.

By: Brian C.

Brian C. — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:06:22 +0000

Did you hear about Kucinich’s bill to end the war which he will introduce in January? I think it’s a little different since your generation was never drafted. The guys and women going into the military now are well aware what they signing up for. Maybe I’ll start a car that represents all the kids in poor countries who have died because of you brown shirts that forced the global food shortage because of the bio fuel scam, Al Gore should bear some of that responsiblilty.

By: Leigh

Leigh — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:33:59 +0000

Evan, how totally cool!
I really love Hillman — he is a fomenter by nature and loves to play with ideas — very hermetic, trying stuff on for size, comfortable with tensions and uncertainty with some trickster energy. (He’s the same way as a person — really fun.) He is assertive and can be acerbic but is anything but a fundamentalist in his thinking, which is what I most enjoy about him.
I went to a weekend long workshop that he gave as he was working some of these ideas pre-book and I think he has opened up some really powerful thoughts about why we are drawn to violence.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think!
Best,
Leigh

By: evan austin

evan austin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:47:03 +0000

Leigh, THANK YOU for completing a circle you didn’t even know was incomplete! some great time ago, a friend mentioned what i now realize is Hillman’s work (“War Is Normal, War is Inhuman, War is Sublime, and Religion Is War”), but very soon afterward i forgot all the relevant details and was therefore fruitless at discovering the text. now, thanks to you, i’ve found and can explore it! i think you’re right that i’ll not initially agree with some of the things he has to say…i think i’ll resist the things that are challenging truths. but i’m not gonna slash any tires over it.

By: Micki

Micki — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:53:36 +0000

I think that it is terrible that most people who support the war say that they are protecting our constitution. After that being said, Freedom of Speech is in our constitution. So I would say that those people are hypocrits because they are not allowing someone to have this freedom and not only that, they are taking violent measures to prevent it. My son is in the Air Force and I do not support this war. I do however support our troops. But I don’t go around slashing the tires of people who do not believe the way I do. It’s shameful!!!!!!

By: Suza

Suza — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:55:43 +0000

I’m sorry to hear this too Evan.
Speaking of education, today I looked up some numbers on world hunger and learned this:
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn¹t happen.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:54:29 +0000

This is fairly predictable. It is pretty common for spectacles to be attacked. The more poignant, the more likely the attack. Tough way to learn a lesson. I appreciate your effort to raise awareness. Have you thought about how a local mother whose son is one of the dead soldiers represented on your vehicle may feel when she sees your reminder on a regular basis? From that perspective it could be considered insensitive.

By: LS

LS — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:03:25 +0000

I am sickened by this, but soooo glad YOU are OK.