triggerhappymedia

This advertisement for the National Guard is now playing pre-previews in movie theaters across the country. While searching for the video online, I was surprised to find how many people like the video and its message. Dissenters on message boards are accused of being hippie left-wingers who are unpatriotic and unsupportive of US troops.

Apparently the recruitment resource of high schools in low-income areas has been tapped. The new strategy is to reach middle America. The video doesn’t make any sense, but it sure is fancy. It just may work.

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Trigger: National Guard Warrior campaign

“A green soldier fears everything. When he is transported to the front, he thinks death is watching him on every side. Every shot is aimed at him. He doesn’t know how to judge the range or direction of fire, so he shoots anywhere, as long as he can shoot a lot without stopping.

He is not hurting the enemy, he is killing his own terror. He is stifling the dread that paralyzes a man and prevents him from thinking. Or rather, the dread doesn’t let him think about what is happening around him, about how to win the battle that his unit is engaged in, because at that moment he has a more important battle to win: he must win the war with his own fear.”

Although this passage was written about the brutal Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), i couldn’t help but think of Iraq. I am perplexed by the way John McCain talks about winning the war, or worse yet Sarah Palin equating withdrawal with waving a “white flag of surrender”. Reaching what ultimate goal would make America the winner? And who will lose?

To me this sounds like children chanting on a playground driven by an egomaniacal need to save face. The Vietnam War ended up in the wrong column- and there alone it shall stay!

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Trigger: Another Day of Life by Ryszard Kapuściński

Skid Row
Festival circuit
2007, USA

Oh la-la-la, Pras Michel from the Fugees made a documentary about homelessness in Los Angeles. He spent nine days on the street with hidden cameras in his jacket.

What I learned:

• Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the US.

• 80,000 people live on the streets- twice as many as in New York City.

• The area known as “Skid Row” has the largest stable number of homeless; 11,000 live in a five-block radius.

• Over 5,000 are under 18.

• 80-90% are drug addicted.

I have to give Pras credit for literally putting himself out there. But the film was too scattered to leave a lasting impact. I couldn’t help but think that it lacked the urgency of When I Came Home, a documentary focused on homeless Iraq War vets.

After the screening, I asked Orlando Ward of the Midnight Mission shelter if, like after the Vietnam War, veterans are again seeping into LA’s homeless population.

“Absolutely we’re seeing Iraq War veterans. The difference between them and the vets who came back from Vietnam is that they are younger. And from our side we know more about things like stress disorders and other mental illnesses. We’re trying to tackle this issue before more troops come back, so we can be prepared for them this time.”

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Trigger: Skid Row official site

On the game show Power of Ten, a young woman from Alabama was asked the following question:

What percentage of randomly polled Americans think that the United States is the best country in the world?

The woman guessed that many patriotic Americans would think so.

The host questioned her. “That’s true,” he said. “But think about how many Americans are unhappy right now about the war in Iraq, high taxes, the health care system. Maybe these people wouldn’t say that America is the best country in the world, and this would make the percentage lower.”

“Well,” the woman replied,”those people who think this isn’t the best country in the world should–

(DEBATE, VOTE, PROTEST, WRITE LETTERS, ORGANIZE, DO SOMETHING!!)

–go live somewhere else.”

Applause.

The answer: 82%

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Trigger/Site: Dulce et decorum est

The US Army won’t let me be!

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Trigger: ilead.itrack.it - US Army pop up ad

 

The US Army is advertising in my neighborhood. They’re offering:

• jobs opportunities with a $40,000 sign-on bonus
• money for college or college loans
• adventure and travel to places like Germany, Italy,Korea, etc*
• “a better life for you and your family”

I live on a block with an even mix of ethnicities, religions, and ages. Everyone works. A quick look around is all it takes to know that some people, some families, are struggling financially. The US Army knows this; in fact, their sign covers the bodega’s notice that they accept food stamps. What their flyer doesn’t clarify is what it takes (besides courage and a high school diploma) and what it means (besides adventure and traveling) to be a soldier.

Last night there were two signs, but by morning one was gone. It was another US Army ad calling for “Arabic Linguists” to join- fluency in English not required. I wish who ever had torn it down had left it up. At least then the connection between a recruitment campaign and the war in Iraq was crystal clear.

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Trigger: US Army recruiters targeting Brooklyn, NY

“In 2002, filmmaker Dan Lohaus set off across the country to document the lives of homeless Vietnam veterans and to listen to their stories. They spoke about returning from combat in Vietnam with overwhelming feelings of guilt and rage, about their nightmares and flashbacks, and about how difficult it was to simply readjust to a ‘normal’ life in America.

[N]early every homeless Vietnam veteran raised concerns about the new generation of soldiers returning from combat in Iraq.

When, in late 2004, Lohaus found Iraq War veteran Herold Noel suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and living in his car in Brooklyn, When I Came Home became a film about history repeating itself.”

This documentary standout debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival almost one year ago. Since then, President Bush has committed more troops to Iraq, and 1.6 million new veterans have returned home.One organization, the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America), is dedicated to ensuring that policies are put in place that will provide for both troops and veterans. A huge part of their mission is connecting the average citizen with servicemen and women. In doing so they hope that “an America living life uninterrupted” will wake up to what’s going on in Iraq.

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Trigger: IAVA promo video
Quote: “It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-war or against the war or still trying to sort it out. Everybody in America has a moral obligation to take care of the people who served.”