The War in Iraq, brought to you by....

I am not mocking the war in Iraq. I am mocking the fact that the terrible act of war has been converted into an entertainment outlet. It is similar to looking at the results of a terrible automobile accident as you pass by. You really don't want to see blood and gore but if it is shoved in your face, you are going to look at it out of morbid curiousity.

The same amazing advances in technology that allow our military to drop a missile on somebody's left foot from 100 miles away has also given us the ability to bring the war live via our television. Frankly, I don't understand why Iraq would allow us into Baghdad to televise the demolition of their city. I sometimes wonder if this war isn't a giant conspiracy conceived by CNN.

What I object to on live war coverage is that it diminishes the solemnity of war. It almost becomes a festive occasion to turn on the TV and wait to see if some building that the camera in Baghdad is focused on is going to get blown up or not. In a way, the television camera shows the more mundane aspects of war, the waiting for something to happen, the long slow drive to Baghdad. It gives a false sense of nondanger to war because even though we might see a building burn or get hit by a rocket you will never see a bullet go through someone's head or see a tank get blown to smithereens on live TV.

I would be happy just to get newsreels of something happening after the fact on the nightly news. I don't like the idea of war being brought to our living rooms just like the Simpsons. I don't want CNN to urge General Tommy Franks to drop some more bombs because their ratings are falling. War is hell. We should not be allowed to watch it unfold as we sit safe and secure on our sofas just like we are watching a soap opera. We have become safe and smug observers in this war without having to suffer the horror of war. I almost feel like a voyeur when I watch it.

Violence is already rampant in our entertainment media. Showing real violence on televsion as though it were just another television show will desensitize us further to violence and make real war seem just like another horror movie. A picture of a dead soldier lying on the battle field is enough of an image to make me realize that war is hell.

I am sure everyone joins me in wishing a quick end to this war with few casualties and that our troops can be coming home soon.

If anyone had bothered to show up to hear the candidates, they would have had heard that all but two of the candidates had an open mind to the landfill issue. It probably won't surprise you to learn that the two candidates who were definitely opposed to the landfill were the two oldest and have lived in Minonk the longest.

It is becoming readily apparent to me that there is definitely a difference in attitudes towards Minonk between the younger and older generation. The older generation, which includes me, remembers when Minonk was a thriving community with an active downtown business section. The younger generation doesn't remember that but they do want to see Minonk grow again. That is good. The question to be asked is to what lengths will the next generation go to bring progress to Minonk. Will it be progress at any cost or progress that will be in harmony with preservation of the uniqueness of Minonk?

Last week two ladies from Southern Illinois were passing through Minonk and happened to stop at a restaurant where I was eating. Before they left, one of the ladies asked me if I was from Minonk to which I replied, "Yes." She said, "You should be proud of your town. I haven't seen a town of this size with so many nice homes."

This lady reaffirmed what I have felt all along. Minonk truly has more nice homes and more character than any town around here. I think too many people take our city for granted and fail to realize what a great town Minonk is to live in. I urge everyone to get involved in the community again and make sure that Minonk remains the best small town around to live in.