This is an exerpt from a paper I wrote in response to reading Operation Homecoming and other research on Iraq and Afghanistan...
A few years ago I was compelled to change my alarm from 6 a.m. to 6:04 just so I wouldn’t be imprinted every morning with the number of troops that had been killed in Iraq over night - news of which invariably topped the hour. Later in the day I could confront that sad reality but I needed to start on a different note. While I have only a few peripheral friends/acquaintances with loved ones in the military, at times I am consumed by thoughts of what it would feel like to not know exactly where these people were, or more urgently, if they were in mortal peril - my heart would ache for these families. The customary news outlets did little to alleviate or inform me about these human concerns (…consider foremost that individuals are referred to as troops)...
I did find some comfort in the story of Major Richard Sater:
Major Richard Sater (2006) provides us with a simple and sincere narrative that clearly illustrates the capacity of words to stir emotions and provoke dialogue. Stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Sater finds himself with some free time and an International Security Assistance Force kite. Significant is the fact that the kite is from the ISAF, which is a peacekeeping force made up of individuals from about thirty different countries. The day spent trying to fly the kite, with successes and failures, is a simple metaphor for the U.S. mission:
The Taliban outlawed kites. Too frivolous. Imagine. In town today, riding through Kabul, you can see children flying kites now because they can. We forget sometimes that genuine progress is measured in small increments (Sater, 2006).
Sater’s day of kite flying ends with him passing the kite (through concertina wire) to two young Afghan boys.
I hope the boys have as much luck as I did in making it fly. Maybe they will know someone who can read the Dari passage on the kite and derive some encouragement from it. But if the dove depicted on the kite stands for nothing more than two Afghan boys having some fun for a day or two perhaps no other significance is necessary (Sater, 2006).
All along I was struck by how divergent yet connected all these stories were. These complex, interwoven narratives and views inspired this sculptural piece. The kite is a copy of the one's distributed by the ISAF and mentioned by Major Sater.A few years ago I was compelled to change my alarm from 6 a.m. to 6:04 just so I wouldn’t be imprinted every morning with the number of troops that had been killed in Iraq over night - news of which invariably topped the hour. Later in the day I could confront that sad reality but I needed to start on a different note. While I have only a few peripheral friends/acquaintances with loved ones in the military, at times I am consumed by thoughts of what it would feel like to not know exactly where these people were, or more urgently, if they were in mortal peril - my heart would ache for these families. The customary news outlets did little to alleviate or inform me about these human concerns (…consider foremost that individuals are referred to as troops)...
I did find some comfort in the story of Major Richard Sater:
Major Richard Sater (2006) provides us with a simple and sincere narrative that clearly illustrates the capacity of words to stir emotions and provoke dialogue. Stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Sater finds himself with some free time and an International Security Assistance Force kite. Significant is the fact that the kite is from the ISAF, which is a peacekeeping force made up of individuals from about thirty different countries. The day spent trying to fly the kite, with successes and failures, is a simple metaphor for the U.S. mission:
The Taliban outlawed kites. Too frivolous. Imagine. In town today, riding through Kabul, you can see children flying kites now because they can. We forget sometimes that genuine progress is measured in small increments (Sater, 2006).
Sater’s day of kite flying ends with him passing the kite (through concertina wire) to two young Afghan boys.
I hope the boys have as much luck as I did in making it fly. Maybe they will know someone who can read the Dari passage on the kite and derive some encouragement from it. But if the dove depicted on the kite stands for nothing more than two Afghan boys having some fun for a day or two perhaps no other significance is necessary (Sater, 2006).
P.S. - The song that I played in class is called Fort Hood by Mike Doughty from the just released album Golden Delicious. It's available on itunes now or you can check out the song and interview on NPR - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19087831
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