WAR? WAR?......WHAT WAR?

WAR? WAR?.........WHAT WAR?

Dr. John M. Hicks

During World War II, I was a kid living in a St. Louis working class neighborhood. Our playtime was not really effected by the war that much, but we felt it because of our contact with the adult world. There were four of us in my family; my brother was ten years younger so he was out of the games and play circle but definitely in the family circle.

I remember walking with my Mom to the little grocery story near our house. She had a few ration stamps for food. The enclosed meat counter had empty trays but there was a tray of brains. We had them for supper on occasion but they were not too popular. Meat was scarce but some bacon could be seen on occasion. Vegetables were not abundant either. Gardens were in the backyards all over town during the summer. People had to can food in those days. In season, apples usually were available but oranges were worth their weight in gold and we were lucky to find one pineapple for the winter holidays. Coffee and sugar ‘were’ gold if you could find them. That day, the grocer put an extra potato in a sack and smiled.

Shoes were rationed also. Kids walking around with bacon rind in the bottom of their shoes was not unusual. Soles wore out and holes appeared from nowhere. Fortunately, bacon rind was about as tough as nails. Driving a car was the ultimate luxury during this war. Dad found that you couldn’t drive without gasoline. Tires were practically extent. By the end of the war, everyone not connected to the war effort was driving around on cords and smooth rubber—if they had a gasoline ration stamp and could find a filling station that still had gasoline.

For all the scarity of products, few people complained. War bond rallies were the norm. Everyone was encouraged to buy war bonds, and they did. Children took coins to school to buy war stamps. The folks at home were more than ready to give up some of their wants, needs and dreams just to help the war effort. And they did.

Oh, yes! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in another war. It has lasted more than four years. Almost four thousand service men and women have been killed and over twenty thousand wounded. A rehabilitation center has been created in Texas so that all those with arms and legs blown off can be brought back into somekind of normal life for themselves and their families. Normal life? There has been no change in the normal life of most of us today as was the case in W.W. II. War? What war?

I went to a local grocery store today. The produce section is full. It’s always full. Shelves are stocked constantly and if you can’t find what you want in fresh produce, try the frozen food section. We have a choice of cheese from thirty countries. The purchase of wine continues to increase and much of it comes from other countries. Meats and fish are in abundance—every day. We have so many cereals on the market that young children, and their moms, can’t keep up with all the new options.

During the “old” war, wives sometimes had a hard time finding food to prepare and put on the table. Now they don’t have to prepare anything. Frozen foods and ready-to-eat foods are stocked in the stores to the ceiling. We have deli’s which have a hundred choices of “good stuff.” In 1944, nothing was ‘thrown away.’ Left overs, were for the dog or cat. Now, throw aways are a way of life. Repair shops are long gone. War? What war?

Speaking of good stuff, more and more people are going out to eat. In W.W. II, dining out was for a celebration of one kind or another. Now that we have an overabundance of food in the grocery stores, we dine out often. The milk goes sour at home while we indulge at the local restaurante.

During W.W. II, few homes were being built. Materials went to war, you know. These past four years, home building has been a marvelous experience for construction workers. Not just little two-bedroom homes built after W.W. II, but big jobs with thousands of square feet. We don’t need all those building materials in this war. Ironically, all these new and very large homes for sale have gigantic kitchens. One wonders why. War? What war?

Fitness centers are increasing their membership. One of the big outfits in Iowa has increased membership and is building a new facility. People are going to these centers at all hours of the day—in their SUVs. Not too many service men or women who have been wounded in battle are joining. They are rehabilitating instead.

Speaking of cars. After four years of war, we have all the gasoline we want and there are plenty of new tires. Auto sales include almost 25% for SUVs. Small cars can be seen but they tend to be old and rusty. The situation seems to fit into the theme of the movie, “Who Killed The Electric Cars?” Advice? Don’t see the movie if you’re middle class. It’ll make you angry.

We should be concerned, now that we have been in a major war for so long, about where all that money is coming from for people to buy these 30 thousand dollar automobiles. Why aren’t we putting that money into savings bonds to help pay for the war. The savings bonds from W.W. II really came in handy later when products came back on the market and houses finally were being built again. Isn’t that silly?

Today, we get more war news than we can handle from television and a host of other media sources. For us, however, opinions are not life or death. We just go on with our normal existence, using lots of energy, eating more than we need and having a fun time while soldiers die or are wounded.

You may not have noticed but the newspapers reported, January 30th, that world travel was up 4.5% in 2006. We’re supposed to be in a “War on Terror” but cruise ships continue to be built, each bigger than the last. American’s love their cruises. They love to go to Mecca, too. Mecca? That’s the glitter capital of the world—located in Nevada, of course. Phoenix, Biloxi, and Ft. Myers continue to increase their share of “snow birds.” There was no such thing as a snow bird during the 1940s. War? What war?

I realize that comparing 1944 to 2007 is on a ‘who cares’ level. What’s the point? The point is that we are NOT at war. President Bush and his close friends are playing ego games called, “Let’s Go To War!” and “We Get The Oil!” He is sharing his war games with all our soldiers and marines. He thinks the armed forces are his. He has taken over the state national guards as well. He loves to send national guard soldiers over to Iraq time and time again. He is having so much fun while the rest of us don’t seem to care. Unless you are a family of a soldier killed fighting the war for President Bush.

In W.W. II we had a draft. There is a very good reason why we don’t have a draft today. A draft would wake us up from our deep sleep. We might have to give up our saturated grocery stores and our SUVs. Fitness Centers would go out of business and running shoes would have to last longer. The last thing President Bush wants is to wake up the American public. And, of course, the American public doesn’t want to wake up. Are you kidding?

The leaders in World War II had a plan. The leaders in this conflict knew Iraq would be a cinch but the planning stopped well before that “Mission Accomplished” banner was raised. There were fraud and waste in the big war but they were miniscule compared to this one. Many billions of dollars have been wasted by Congress and the White House during the past five years but the public doesn’t seem to mind. Those billions could have been spent on health care, education and the environment but the public is having too much fun to pay attention. Do you suppose the public will ever wake up? Probably not. Even with Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” still going on, life is just too wonderful. War? What war?

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