Radio, radio
I have a word of correction and one of clarification regarding non-commercial radio in Charlottesville [“America at a distance,” InReview/Media, March 4].
Correction: “This American Life” has already been available in Charlottesville, thank you. WMRA airs it on Friday evenings.
Clarification: BBC news has already been available, for an hour at least, on WTJU.
Charlottesville has a wonderful variety of good quality, non-commercial radio. It’s hard to beat it anywhere in the country. This new station makes for even more variety.
Mark Buckner
Stanardsville
Skip balloons, build support
I appreciate Ted Rall’s reminders of the hypocrisies and inconsistencies behind the pro-war platforms of disarmament, terrorism-quashing and despot-toppling [“Don’t support our troops,” AfterThought, March 18]. His arguments against Bush-think are cogent. I disagree, however, with his call to withhold support from our troops.
Rall’s presumption that “everybody in uniform knew what they might be in for when they signed up” is overly simplistic. First, many troops enlisted during the Clinton years, when military force was used more conservatively for the purposes of preserving human rights, as in Bosnia. I doubt many Americans could have imagined a president who would dismiss domestic and international will, bulldoze over the U.N. Security Council and employ attack as a diplomatic strategy. These recruits could not have predicted that they would become pawns in a global (though unilaterally initiated) Hatfield-and-McCoy reprise.
Furthermore, the Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines are marketed as right-wing versions of “Road Rules,” appealing to youthful lust for adventure and sense of purpose. Recruiters don’t school androgen-drunk high school grads about the insidious effects of Gulf War Syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other byproducts of executive branch-sponsored fun, such as death and dismemberment.
We can’t assume that our troops are warmongers just because their boss is. I agree that we should refrain from shows of support that might be misrepresented or misconstrued via media as celebratory. Since war is no party, let’s skip the balloons and fireworks. We can support our enlisted fellows in quieter, more personal ways, such as public prayer and vigil or programs such as Adopt A Platoon (www.adoptaplatoon.org).
Ashley Hatcher
Charlottesville