Dance “War” – Huh?
Last night as I watched Dancewar, I began to be bothered by the term. Maybe I’d feel better if we weren’t actually at war right now, but somehow using the term to talk about a dance competition feels disrespectful to the people who are, as I write this, fighting a war. Whether you agree with it or disagree, it’s happening, and those are our people – our friends, our family – who are dying, and killing, and coming back maimed in body and spirit.
This is a minor point; I’m not saying that we shouldn’t watch the show, or that they even thought about what they were naming it when they came up with the name. But they did bring in the “war” word, and they did fade an American flag, billowing, during the solo audition of a singer performing “Amazing Grace” on a California beach (an act which could, in itself, seem a bit disrespectful to the origins of that melody). It felt to me like they were making a play at the Patriotism heart strings, and in that context – it really didn’t fly, for me.
A friend of mine recently visited Seaworld, and like me, a veteran of military service, she found the same things happening – using the tragedy of war as a part of entertainment:
At the Shamu show we got a multi-media American flag waving event to honor the brave American soldiers and those of our allied nations. They had US force members stand up for a big cheer. Immediately after that they had the nerve to show cute images of animals, calling them, Brother, Sister, Cousins, In-laws, and then flash to the earth and call it Mother.
We were to celebrate the young men and women who are dying because of really stupid politics in this senseless war. We’re to call cute animal brothers but we’re to send out our young to kill other humans and destroy habitat and history, not to mention decimate our international reputation and credibility.
The park has many international visitors and children. It was deeply embarrassing and distressing for us.
I’m not trying to point fingers here, or say that people shouldn’t remember these folks. It just seems to me to take away from the gravity of the situation to do these things in a context where one minute you’re thinking of the dead and maimed and the next you are cheering because a whale ate a fish. If we are remembering these things, we should, in my opinion, remember them, give them some actual time in our hearts and minds and perhaps even try to figure out ways to honor their memory – not the least by thinking before we decide to go to the next war.
My fellow B5Media Blogger The WidowsQuest linked today to a dead soldier’s words. I recommend you go and read the entire piece; he was a good writer, and his words deserve to be heard. If you don’t have the time, well, then here’s his own wishes about the use of the war to promote any cause:
I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I’m not around to expound on them I’d prefer others not try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn’t support. Further, this is tough enough on my family without their having to see my picture being used in some rally or my name being cited for some political purpose. You can fight political battles without hurting my family, and I’d prefer that you did so. — Andy Olsted (R.I.P.)
Comments Off