The Fortune 500- Truthout's John Cory rocks the house!!!!

[Wetzelbill]

I always have thought John Cory is an awesome writer. Good stuff out every time. -Bill

The Fortune 500
By John Cory
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Sunday 18 January 2004

Yeh, some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, how much should we give,
oh, they only answer, more, more, more
- Fortunate Son by John Fogarty
It's only a number-500. Chances are the winning lottery number of 500 American combat deaths in Iraq will be reached within a few days or maybe a week from now.

Iraq was rolled off the assembly line of ready-to-war products so favored by men who have no compunction about sending others to die for their country. Wrap it up in the flag and sell it next to Mom's Apple Pie and you've got yourself a real steal at bargain-basement prices. To paraphrase Randolph Hearst, "You provide the bodies and I'll provide the war."

Just a number-500. And the next day 501. And the day after that another number and on it goes. Just numbers ticking away on a scoreboard. But if you take those 500 deaths, add in a spouse, parents, a few siblings here and there, and then cousins, friends, and neighbors, well you have several thousand people holding folded flags and emptiness as they stare at a hole in the ground and feel the hole in their lives. And for what?

The madmen of hate still bomb and preach destruction of evil enemies. Emboldened by their success these men write books and issue tapes and duel with one another for headline space. Neoconservatives whisper in the ear of the president and give him lists of potential new conquests while the so-called Islamic fundamentalists and extremists spout their violence at every opportunity.


http://truthout.org/docs_04/011804A.shtml