::::::::
Two years ago this Spring, I saw the Clint Eastwood film, GRAN TORINO, and wrote up the following article.Tonight, I watched it again on HBO.
As I watched GRAN TORINO, I realized that the film is ( or was) not just an homage to American mistakes and love of violence of the past--which we often pay for in the present--but it is a description of our present Wars on Terror and War in Afghanistan. That is, it is about America's love affair with using violence to hopefully obtain some sort of peace.
Just as in GRAN TORINO, America is losing more and more people and killing many many more others on the continuing Wars of Terror and Afghanistan. There is no clear exit strategy--as is also the case with the War in Libya.
The war on the ethnic streets of one particular Michigan city in the film, GRAN TORINO, is like that--there is a continuing strong chance that one of us will not come back.
There is a chance many many many from all sides in ongoing conflicts will not come back from the confrontations with violence ALIVE.
When the movie is over, nothing has been solved. We have only learned to get medals of honor for "killing some gook"--as the ancient Clint Eastwood character, named Walt, did.
"Walt" Eastwood also said, "I finish things and I'm going to it alone."
For 11 years that has been American policy too often in BOTH the War on Terror and the War and Afghanistan--I.E. trying to finish things and often doing it alone", LIKE A COWBOY.
Obviously, there has to be another way. The way of the ancient Korean War Vet named "Walt" Eastwood is not working, America!!!!
In summary, let's stop our suicidal approaches before we end up dead and even more unsatisfied by any sense of honor as was the case for "Walt", the typical Korean War Vet, as reminisced about in GRAN TORINO.
