photomatt.net/2004/04/07/mosaic
Original Zen >> 1022 Comments 1 A Truly Moving Image As was originally posted here, and reposted by PhotoMatt I'd like to again post a mosiac of all the soldiers who have died in Iraq: You can also view the medium or large size of the picture, which you can see each soliders face.
And more of those faces died *after* Dubya declared victory from a staged photo-op on an aircraft carrier. But that's no excuse to go throwing your currency away on speculative deals.
With an average loss of over one soldier a day, and estimates of the US presence in Iraq running from 18 to 24 months before we can even consider pulling out, it does not really matter much that images may have been used three times. This powerful image is as much a comment on the future as it is the situation to date. With other nations responding to the democratic will of their citizens and getting the hell out of Iraq, American families and friends can expect a greater number of US soldiers and civilians being sent to Iraq in airplane seats and coming home in body bags. To the clever tyke who commented about "Freedom isn't Free," how ignorant to compare to WW II and Japan. Along with the History channel, you might want to crack a book. Iraq has yet to attack the US and this bombing raid and occupation is not about Freedom. " do you use the terms: "chinks, spics, kykes, wops, huns and niggers" too?
I wonder if the same person who made this will do one of Saddam Hussein using the faces of all people of Halabja? On March 16th 1988 5,000 innocet civilians, 75% women and children perished in a Chemicla attack ordered by Saddam.
I'm glad we have the freedom to speak our minds in this country. We can give our opinions, protest things we disagree with, criticize people; We can even make mozaics of people we think are responsible for the death of our soldiers. Personally I give thanks to these brave soldiers who gave their life up to free others, so that they too may have the ability to give their opinion, protest things they disagree with, criticize people; The Iraqi people now have the same kind of freedom to criticize just as we do, and believe me they're using it. Somebody's husband, Wife, Brother, Sister, or Son dies, and in some cases whole families; Instead of wasting countless hours making a mosaic of an "opinion" (albeit respected), maybe do something constructive like helping Our Troops stay alive. Forget politics for one bit, besides we're already in this mess, and focus on the important things. maybe you can make a difference in one soldiers life so that he may not loose it and come back home.
Operation Gratitude we send care packages to the troops to boost their morale, and maybe keep them alive in the process. Remember some of these guys out there may think no one cares and give up. Don't let your political opinions get in the way of helping our husbands, wives, brothers, sisters or sons.
I agree that it is unfortunate that the dead are used to make a political statement. It just seems wrong to use them in that manner if the families weren't contacted for permission (out of common courtesy at least). It is just propaganda, and one's response will depend on your position. So I don't see it as changing any minds - just reaffirming those which have already decided. As an aside: why do people respond to trolls like the poster identified as "George Bush"?
So I guess you will vote for Kerry who promises to keep us in. It's the Dems who want to repeat the same mistakes of Vietnam - send in more troops, push back the date for self rule. Kerry's got some nerve, he voted for this action now he's saying it was a mistake.
You comment on the ineptness and fallacy of the president you are no longer permitted to call yourself an American. It is also assumed that your opinion is invalid because you belong to one political party or the other. America is not a political party it is an ideal built upon ideas. There are republicans that criticize Bush, and just because I criticize him does not mean that I am a democrat or bound to vote for Kerry. There is no logical tie between countries pulling out of Iraq and me voting for Kerry. I am not going to take the bait and try and defend Kerry's record on anything or try to speak for the man, that is his job between now and the election. I think the recent public polls in the US prove my point. It is not a majority of Americans that want to vote for Kerry, it is a majority of Americans that want anybody but Bush, something that seems to be lost on BOTH the major parties. You can not dismiss my ideas by labeling me democrat, republican or whatever political group you do not belong to, if you are going to do it, do it with the brilliance of your thought not the stigma of your label.
A mosaic of Saddam Hussein using his victims sounds like a good idea, if possible it should be done. However Hussien's tyranny does absolve Bush from his actions, lies and caviler attitude with America's soldiers. Freedom and democracy for the Iraqi people were not the reasons Bush, Cheney and Powell gave in front of US citizens and the world for waging war. It was to remove WMDs and protect America (and the world) from terrorists. The freedom of the Iraqi people is only a rationalization after 1) no evidence that Hussein was responsible for 9/11 was found, and subsequently 2) no evidence of WMDs was found.
Maybe the author of this mozaic should have done a mozaic of Saddam and all the people he's killed, and while he's at it make one of Hitler, Stalin, Milosevic, etc--and the list goes on.. As a free nation, founded on this principle amongst others, we have a duty to ensure this remains true for us. Yes, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, from Hitler's Germany to Stalin's Soviet Union, hundreds of millions of lives have been destroyed by crooked rulers, megalomanic dictators, or thoughtless commanders. Instead of wasting countless hours making a mosaic of an "opinion" (albeit respected), maybe do something constructive like helping Our Troops stay alive. As a former member of the armed forces, as someone who subscribed - and subscribes - to an ideal that includes my death for a cause I deem just and worthy, I don't think of this mosaic as a "waste". These men and women in uniform, these soldiers, died to disarm a dictator who needed no disarmament. The man who sent them there, pictured as a mosaic comprised of their images, has yet to honor one of them by attending their funerals. The man who smiled, when he cried "bring it on", the man who smiled, when he announced, a few days ago, he'd expect more of those deaths as the deadline draws near. This mosaic shows whose lives have been destroyed to allow this man to smile. It shows someone who cut their danger pay, their salaries, and who is unwilling to pay their injured brothers and sisters in arms enough to live after they lost limbs in a war, this man wanted to be "brought on". This mosaic shows more than just a bunch of DDSs (dead and disposable, served), it shows what he, who is nothing but a mosaic of other's sacrifices, is made of. Forget politics for one bit, besides were already in this mess, and focus on the important things. For me, the accountability of a commander in chief is the most important thing. maybe you can make a difference in one soldiers life so that he may not loose it and come back home. I would hope to make a difference in more than just one life. I would hope, that I am able to show, why those men and women died, able to show their need for adequate armor and training, able to show, that I care about their safety and their lives. I do this, by exposing those, whose decisions and words created a situation you so aptly describe as a "mess" up there. I am a volunteer for an organization call Operation Gratitude we send care packages to the troops to boost their morale I applaud your efforts, and I bow before you. You, like the men and women in Iraq, are a hero in my book. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and - as a veteran, soldier, and human - will hold your name in the same esteem I hold the names of my living and fallen brothers and sisters. I must, however, as you ...
|
http://csua.com/feed/