tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581585849743713610.post6409943390576681994..comments2023-12-08T11:04:11.575-08:00Comments on Brazilian Soul - Alma Brasileira: The Swamp Man (O Pantaneiro)Detehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04291187582318661823noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581585849743713610.post-78433711732327242982009-06-25T17:35:54.030-07:002009-06-25T17:35:54.030-07:00You strike a nerve when you mention about your tho...You strike a nerve when you mention about your thoughts of the Vietnam War. From 1967 through about 1973, I contemplated the Vietnam War from the very Republican house of my parents. Between 1967 and 1969, I allowed (and it was not like there was a choice) the Vietnam War to invade the living room, by way of the television, as my parents and I ate dinner. Here, by the way, I made the acquaintance of Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, and others, who reported on the latest war news with grim smiles. It was palatable in black and white, and shocking in color. It took some time, but eventually I came to oppose this war, and actively participated in many marches and demonstrations against it.<br /><br />There were others of my generation who embraced the war, and volunteered to serve in Vietnam. Some 55,000 would not see their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives, sons, daughters, or lovers, cousins, aunts, and uncles again. Many were held prisoner, and many just went missing. I am thankful for the sacrifice of those who did not return filled with the life they left with. I don't believe I disrespected those who went. After all, some of them were my friends.<br /><br />I think, now, about all we have seen in the years since Vietnam: the Iron Curtain fell and the Berlin Wall came down. We have seen our nation terrorized, watching, time and again as the World Trade Centers collapsed in a cloud of death and destruction. And, yes, once more war has invaded my living room, leading me to ask: When will it ever end? When will we understand what really matters is being able to walk out into a meadow, look up into the night sky, and see millions and millions of stars, or walk in the woods and see a deer, or a bear, or a cougar, or wolf?<br /><br />Your uncle was a very wise man to understand this.BillEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06750267449350697050noreply@blogger.com