There’s a house on my street with two flagpoles in the yard, an American flag and a POW/MIA flag. The Vietnam War had all the boys in my high-school class wondering what their draft number would be. The rich always had a way out, but that war reaped the young men of the middle and working class.
Now, not so much shared sacrifice. How volunteer is our military when so many young people can’t find a job or afford college? What should we give up before we put the first soldier in harm’s way? Cheap gas? Defense jobs? Tax cuts?
Every soldier lost leaves a space in the place they should have been. A parent, a child, a brother or sister, a friend or lover.
When soldiers come home, they need support. Not as troops, but as citizens. Jobs, health care, housing, safety, respect– what we all need.
Keeping the peace happens here.
Greater City:Providence has a tribute to all the Rhode Islanders who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
