Voices of MainStreet: Lisa Rae Rosenberg

Off the Radar
April 1, 2011

I am sad to say that unless someone has a loved one active in the military, war does not seem to be on their radar. Active combat is an overlooked headline and a cause for more political partisanship, but the reality that we are at war is intangible. The battles being fought and the sacrifices being made today by our troops and their families are taken for granted, and the real heroes are left behind in the “great wars" of the last century. We have an expectation of protection from the dangers of the outside world, but have lost sight of its price.

The official party-line for much of the current military involvement is that the United States is needed to help protect innocent foreign citizens, overthrow tyrannical regimes and spread democracy. If our goals were rooted in protecting civilians from genocide and other atrocities, I would expect that places like Darfur would be a priority. But they are not.

The political machine behind our wars is rooted in protecting interests in oil-bearing countries. American corporations with lucrative war contracts get richer on the backs of underpaid and underappreciated men and women of our military, and the largely ignored civilian casualties overseas.

In essence, war has lost its human face.

—Lisa is a former comedy writer for television. She now writes about her funny family at her blog Smacksy.com.