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A lot of folks suggest drinking games for the debates; take a drink each time Kerry mentions he's a Vietnam veteran, or declares Iraq or Afghanistan a failure, etc. I can't really watch the debates here - the time difference being one problem; another is one participant's relentless assaults on what we're doing. In form and substance it's beyond my capacity for tolerance.
I hear NotBush has a new campaign slogan: notthesandsofIwoJima. I look downward, and indeed its sand I see, but the sands of Iraq, so once again a completely irrefutable and useless fact is logged by the anti-American faction in this war. Not-the-sands-of-Iwo-Jima indeed.
There is commonality though. The sands of both locations have drunk their share of American blood.
There is no still no close comparison, of course - over 6,821 Americans died securing that tiny island, 19,217 were wounded. Sixty years ago Americans faced an enemy desiring to kill us in large numbers; a foe willing to die in suicide charges, committed to a fanatical religious belief. But for 60 years generations of Americans have dedicated themselves to ensuring no nation or group, regardless of it's desires, could inflict casualties upon us in those numbers again. The result? NotthesandsofIwoJima. They were so successful that other Americans labeled them war mongers and war profiteers for their efforts.
So yes, notthesansdsofIwoJima contains American blood, and though these sands aren't quite drenched in that blood the way the sands of Iwo Jima are it's because we've learned, and these sands are no less deserving for our amazing success. Tragically it's in spite of the best efforts of many that this is the case. More tragically, that group is represented by a significant number of Americans.
Lighten up: Here's a drinking game we play here, let's call it "Jolly Roger": monitor the radio chatter; with every utterance of "roger" you take a drink. "Roger that" requires downing the bottle. Sadly we have no beer, so when I return to Germany I'm obligated to consume 4,627 pints. I should stop listening to the radio now.
Now, truthfully we really don't play that game at all. Here's a game we do play. To the best of my knowledge, all Americans in Iraq participate. Rocket Bingo. Here's a round-a-bout explanation.
Ever had one of those moments where you missed something by a mere instant, or something happens to someone near you? Ever heard one of those stories where someone misses their plane then that plane crashes? Ever wondered what turning left as opposed to right at some point does to impact your life? In a way, that's sort of the concept of Rocket Bingo. Every once in a while nottheJapanese launch a rocket or mortar into one of our camps. It's not a guided weapon, so who knows where it might fall. It's often a dud, so it often doesn't matter, but sometimes it's not. The result? Rocket Bingo.
Going to lunch? Rocket Bingo. Staying at work? Rocket Bingo. Doing laundry? Rocket Bingo. The only rule is you have to play. Stay in your bunk all day - Rocket Bingo.
But the fact that you're playing just stays in the back of your mind. You leave work with a buddy, "Hey, wanna go to the gym?" "No - gotta do laundry." And you imagine yourself later saying "Damn - he should have come with me" - or imagine him saying the same.
Rocket Bingo.
Compared to the odds of walking uninjured off of Iwo Rocket Bingo ain't that bad.
And you know what makes it possible to play at all? The absolute and resolute courage of everyone else playing. They know they do so for a purpose, even if that purpose is scorned by some. Just as every Marine on Iwo knew the way home was through victory, every American in Iraq (and the vast majority of Iraqis too) knows the way home is a democratic Iraq. No, that won't solve all our problems, but it is another island on the road to victory in a war on terror.
And those of you who swore you'd vote for a lamp shade over President Bush certainly have an opportunity to prove your sincerity this November, though personally I'd rather you stayed home, playing drinking games.
