Comfort and Pride

I was interested to learn how the Hitchens V Galloway thing went in New York yesterday and was grateful for Popinjay Douglas and also for Harry’s Place for pointing me towards this blog.

Our man seems to have acquitted himself well, giving reasoned arguments against Galloway’s usual huffing and puffing. And I think I’ve finally figured out what it is with Galloway. I think he’s actually a frustrated short story writer, communicating as he does in words that conjure up images all the time. Great habit for public-speaking, but probably a bit odd when used in a debate. He should give up the politics (oh God, please) and take up a monthly subscription with Writer’s Forum magazine instead.

The thing that struck me most was the exchange regarding Cindy Sheehan.

Hitch points out to Galloway the sickness of his cheering on the Jihadist murders in Iraq, and then siding up to Mrs Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed by those very Jihadists.

And this assertion just wraps up the muddled feelings I have regarding Mrs Sheehan’s stand regarding her son’s death. Firstly, I feel desperately sorry for her loss. And I would have to say I feel some admiration for her too. It takes guts to do everything that she has done, and strength of mind. It’s humbling.

But I also feel a lot of unease about the ones she has attracted to her movement, and have the queasy notion that as much as love and grief compel her to do what she does, there are many around who have attached themselves to her who have very different motivating factors.

I’m troubled too that one of the comforts, one of the things that might be helping her through this, has been taken away from her. Because the war her son fought in was not a popular war, she thinks her son died senselessly. In a way he did. In a way all soldiers, who die in all wars, do so senselessly. Wars are senseless. But down the centuries, families of soldiers have always been able to take some pride, and so some consolation, from the fact that a life was lost fighting for a higher cause, or a better life, or against an enemy worth fighting.

What such a strong anti-war movement has done is to impart the message that in Iraq none of these factors exist. There is no higher cause. There is no better life to be gained. There is no enemy worth fighting against.

And I hate what that must do to the families who have lost people to this fight. I hate how that must make the soldiers out there feel.

I’m quite obviously not a soldier in Iraq, and I don’t have anyone I love out in Iraq, and it is easy (oh so easy) to sit here in my office in my three-bed-semi and write blog posts about democracy and fighting the fascists. But look at who is causing the bloodshed out there. Think of the enemy who gathers civilians in search of work around him, and then detonates his bomb to shred them to pieces. And if you think that only happened because we went into Iraq, then think of the thousands who died on September 11th 2001. It is the same enemy. It is the same people. The same Jihadists who blew up children queuing for sweets, are the same Jihadists who killed 52 people in London this July.

And there’s no higher cause in this war? No better life to be gained? No enemy worth fighting?

I disagree.

Hitchens said last night: “The Iraqi secular left are fighting for their lives against the most vicious form of fascist violence.”

I’m proud my country’s army is fighting with them.