The family of 38-year-old [LTC Billy] Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain. That's a shame, because Hall's story is a moving reminder that the war in Iraq, forgotten by much of the nation, remains real and present for some. Among those unlikely to forget the war: 6-year-old Gladys and 3-year-old Tatianna. The rest of the nation, if it remembers Hall at all, will remember him as the 4,011th American service member to die in Iraq, give or take, and the 419th to be buried at Arlington. Gladys and Tatianna will remember him as Dad. The two girls were there in Section 60 yesterday beside grave 8,672 -- or at least it appeared that they were from a distance. Journalists were held 50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or seven rows of graves, and staring into the sun and penned in by a yellow rope.
This is a story that I still find difficult to believe...yet the story of LTC Hall's burial is neither the first instance (nor the last) of our government controlling media access to the funerals of those killed in Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader's Excellent Adventure in Iraq © . Could there possibly be stronger, more convincing evidence that those in power recognize that the war in Iraq is an immoral and illegal clusterf--k? Only by actively and aggressively moving to control media access to military funerals can our government hope to continue keeping the truth from an American Sheeple unwilling to pay attention to what's being done in their name. After all, there are the same cretins who have refused photographers to shoot flag-draped caskets on their way from the war zone to Dover AFB. As if not being able to photograph coffins somehow makes them less real....
If an American soldier is killed by an IED and no one is there to see the coffin, did he ever really die?
Just as long as someone else is doing the fighting and dying, eh?
I grew up being taught that American government was open and transparent, responsible to the people it was created to serve. Imagine my dismay, then, when I finally learned the truth: that (any) American government (Republican or Democrat) works as hard as any repressive regime in the world to control the dissemination of information- particularly that which might place it in a bad light. This problem has become even more egregious since 9.11, which seems to have provided the one-size-fits-all excuse for those who would destroy our civil liberties in order that they may save them.
Ultimately, the problem lies not so much with the thugs who seem to honestly believe they're doing the Lord's work. No, it rests squarely on the shoulders of the American sheeple, most of whom are too lazy and/or stupid to pay attention to what's being done in their name. It's been said (here, as a matter of fact) that we get exactly the quality of leadership we deserve. What's truly sad is that our collective standards seem to be so abysmally low. Apparently, we deserve incompetence, ineptitude, and absolute disdain for dissent and independent thinking.
Somewhere, Josef Goebbels is smiling....
