Silent Tribute

Eyes Wide Open Exhibit at the National City Christian Church- January 20, 2005

Inaguration

Today, one Texas family celebrated with pomp and circumstance in Washington. As George W. Bush took the oath of office, the news reports were all abuzz with presidential history, thoughts of a presidential legacy, and the fashion plans of the First Lady and the Bush twins for an evening of inaugural balls and festivities to celebrate. Fireworks will light the sky and party goers will dance until dawn.

Back in Texas, two families prepared to bury their sons who died last week in the chaos that is Iraq. The only fireworks at these events will be a 21 gun salute and the fashion will be somber black.

Sincere condolences to the families of Lance Corporal Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez, age 23 and Lance Corporal Matthew W. Holloway, age 21.

I Look Upon War With Horror

"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations yet to come. I look upon war with horror."

William T. Sherman, 1880

What does the average American see of war? We are insulated from it for the most part. General William T Sherman during the Civil War understood that unless people saw the devastation and cruelty of war, they would continue to fight. In the final days of the Civil War, he cut a devastating path through Georgia which removed the illusion that the south fought for a "Glorious Cause".

Most of what we see of war in the US involves destruction of property. We see the rubble after a building falls and the burning shells of cars that have been destroyed by the IED. What of the people? When an explosion fells a building, what happens to the people inside? We read everyday it seems that there have been xx killed and xx wounded today in Iraq.

One intrepid blogger went out and found pictures not found in the press. They were taken by press photographers...and with some work can be found on the net. Yahoo collects them by category. There are often duplicates and it is time consuming to look through all of them. However, they will not be published in the newspapers or carried on the network news. Why? Because often they depict the blood and gore that is the stuff of war.

This blogger has been called everything from a hero to a war criminal - depending on the perspective. He posts the pictures and allows people to draw their own conclusions. The Washington Post ran an article on his blog which drew a contrast between what the official press publishes and what is published by individuals who feel something is important.

His pictures are stark. They are full of violence. They are not for the weak of heart...and they are not for children. They are a freeze-frame of a moment of crisis. His posting only involves the basic information provided by the photographer. The original blog was replaced by a website which is still in the process of being built: www.crisispictures.org

William T. Sherman was right: War is all hell. To those at home, there may be glory. To those viewing what we see only in pictures, there is only surviving that hell.