Comments on: Alive (My Iraqi War Diary, Part 1) http://www.shootthemessengermusic.com Bob Dylan meets David Byrne Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:00:26 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rob http://www.shootthemessengermusic.com/media/alive-my-iraqi-war-diary-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-10507 Rob Tue, 21 Jun 2011 23:38:09 +0000 http://www.shootthemessengermusic.com/?page_id=18#comment-10507 Tom, As in 'Noose,' I went for the point of view of the 'average' grunt. I know that many soldiers, after a while, hate their enemies, in fact are trained to & are desensitized to killing. That's a Quality Soldier, what the military trains for; their survival (and that of their fellow grunts) depends on this; there's no room for caring about the enemy (and in a guerrilla war, who knows who the enemy is? safer to kill the whole damned village). Eg, "Sometimes I make mistakes, but there's nothing I can do, cause ya gotta kill them before they kill you." Though not intentional, the attitude is not very caring either. Also, many soldiers question the mission; though not mentioned by name, Iraq is obviously the setting, a country that had nothing to do w/9/11; So there is lots to be angry at the govt about, including the lack of proper armor on the Abrams tanks, and the many contractor scandals: at least one soldier was electrocuted cause of faulty wiring; billions in cash gone AWOL, etc, etc. So I was going for anger at all this, but also the fear, eg: "If you saw my nightmares, you'd swear they're real." War is largely anger, fear, and boredom (lots of waiting), but boredom is not that interesting, so I didn't write about it. I wasn't going for a Joad-like guy. Thanx for writing, again. Tom,
As in ‘Noose,’ I went for the point of view of the ‘average’ grunt.
I know that many soldiers, after a while, hate their enemies, in fact are trained to & are desensitized to killing.
That’s a Quality Soldier, what the military trains for; their survival (and that of their fellow grunts) depends on this;
there’s no room for caring about the enemy (and in a guerrilla war, who knows who the enemy is? safer to kill the whole damned village).
Eg, “Sometimes I make mistakes, but there’s nothing I can do, cause ya gotta kill them before they kill you.”
Though not intentional, the attitude is not very caring either.

Also, many soldiers question the mission; though not mentioned by name, Iraq is obviously the setting,
a country that had nothing to do w/9/11;

So there is lots to be angry at the govt about, including the lack of proper armor on the Abrams tanks,
and the many contractor scandals: at least one soldier was electrocuted cause of faulty wiring; billions in cash gone AWOL, etc, etc.

So I was going for anger at all this, but also the fear, eg: “If you saw my nightmares, you’d swear they’re real.”

War is largely anger, fear, and boredom (lots of waiting), but boredom is not that interesting, so I didn’t write about it.

I wasn’t going for a Joad-like guy.
Thanx for writing, again.

]]> By: Tom Pope http://www.shootthemessengermusic.com/media/alive-my-iraqi-war-diary-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-10236 Tom Pope Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:35:55 +0000 http://www.shootthemessengermusic.com/?page_id=18#comment-10236 Rob, The lyrics bring the listener into the horrors of war by showing what happens to people when propaganda surrounds them. The words also show how a soldier has an ordinary life back home and wants to share a relationship. I worry about the direction of the anger. The character is the average guy who doesn’t know the complexity of the players. That’s great, but a difference lies between the direction of this soldier’s anger and Tom Joad, for example. The anger here is against all Shia and Sunni and the government. But Joad’s anger went against those who beat up a guy or took away the house. Joad did see a government farm that treated people fairly. Did the soldier not see some government official being blocked by a another? Maybe different players within the government meant the anger should be directed to those who spouted the phony propaganda. Let me know what you think, Tom Pope Rob,

The lyrics bring the listener into the horrors of war by showing what happens to people when propaganda surrounds them. The words also show how a soldier has an ordinary life back home and wants to share a relationship.

I worry about the direction of the anger. The character is the average guy who doesn’t know the complexity of the players. That’s great, but a difference lies between the direction of this soldier’s anger and Tom Joad, for example.

The anger here is against all Shia and Sunni and the government. But Joad’s anger went against those who beat up a guy or took away the house. Joad did see a government farm that treated people fairly. Did the soldier not see some government official being blocked by a another? Maybe different players within the government meant the anger should be directed to those who spouted the phony propaganda.

Let me know what you think,
Tom Pope

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