There seems to be a need in the lives of humans to mark events as milestones, acknowledging significant points along the way.
Different ages - 13, 16, 18, 21,...100 - all have some magical effect on us. We become a teenager, we can drive, we can vote and go to war, we can drink, we are among the oldest of the old.
We celebrate anniversaries of various kinds. Happy occasions like wedding anniversaries and sadder ones commemorating death.
As Buddha the dog sleeps on the floor behind me, I ponder what life is like with no milestones. Sure, he knows when it's time to eat (All the time.) (Or at least once in the early morning and at again at exactly 5:00 p.m.) But that's about it for Buddha milestones. He and the wild animals are completely free of the burden of having to remember another's birthday or a wedding (or mating) anniversary.
And they also miss the fun of creating an event out of a date on the calendar.
Just think... time is pretty much one continuous road if you are oblivious to the milestones we are programmed to honor and remember.
And Buddha the Dog isn't any less happy as he sniffs the road and lifts his leg along the way. He just lives in the moment - noticing each doggy calling card he comes upon.
I'm not exploring milestones in this way to make light of the milestone that occurred today. I'm just pondering our tendency to choose to make one number more important than another.
Today, the 1000th U.S. soldier was killed in Afghanistan. Definitely not the kind of moment to take lightly or celebrate in any way.
But I'm feeling very sober about the 1st and the 999th soldiers to die there (and everyone in between). I can't turn my back to every civilian; every innocent child; every soldier from any country; every person who starved to death today; everyone of us who suffered for any reason.
We mark the 1,000th death as a way to make a point that too many soldiers are dying.
But "too many" didn't start with the 1,000th U.S. soldier's death in Afghanistan. "Too many deaths due to war" happened a long time ago.
Such a sobering read Carol along the subject of milestones...
ReplyDeleteHearng the news of the UK soldiers deaths has been non-stop lately... and yuo mention the milestones of ages...some of these boys are no more than 19 years of age. Too Many deaths due to war...
Carol: To support your idea that too many deaths due to war happened a long time ago, I found the following excerpt from a poem called Nefarious War:
ReplyDelete"So, men are scattered and smeared over the desert grass,
And the generals have accomplished nothing.
Oh, nefarious war! I see why arms
were so seldom used by the benign sovereigns."
The poem was written by Li Po circa 750 Still true today, eh?
Daffy,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that so many U.K. soldiers are dying.
19...
Too young to fight in war. I'm not sure there is an age that's not too young to fight in war.
G.G.,
ReplyDeleteSomethings never change, huh?
The wars keep happening, and those of us who've had enough have to keep speaking up. I wonder if it will always be this way?
Milestones, a good way to put it. We passed the six year mark since the death of our son this month. It was a hard time. When he died, there were less than 200 deaths from the Iraq war. It's been a long journey. My son-in-law came home safe from Iraq in the fall but now faces possible deployment to Afghanistan. I cannot watch the news about the war, I'm afraid I'll lose what sanity I've managed to put together.
ReplyDeleteAw, Amy. Thinking of you. Six years...
ReplyDeleteI can truly understand your need to avoid news of the war. It's all crazy-making.
My best wishes for your son-in-law. May he be spared another deployment.