I watched Oprah yesterday. I had heard that she was having a tour of a veteran's hospital to visit soldiers that have come back from the war. My heart quickened. If Oprah jumped on the anti-war bandwagon, soon America would follow and then there would be a way out of this war!

I was wrong of course. Yes, Oprah did have a tour of the veteran's hospital in San Antonio, Texas and there was the parade of injured soldiers that were happy to have given their arms and legs and to have partially burned alive for their country. She asked them over and over would they do it again and they said they would. I appreciate her dedicating a show to the sacrifice that these soldiers made and they should be honored. Its not me over their risking my neck. I am sitting here in the relative safety of my living room, blogging about what I think is wrong with the world and the appropriate changes that I feel should be made. However, this show glorified the violence, the war heroes and their selfless sacrifice, and they would do it all over again to protect our freedom! Yay!!!

But No! There was no mention of the fact that this war was NOT FOR OUR FREEDOM! Ask them a question, a deep question, about how they would feel if they were losing their limbs for a war that was lining the pockets of a select few. Ask the widow how she would feel losing her husband and if they would do that all over again knowing that. There was only one soldier, I believe her name was Jenny, who told in detail how crappy her life is now. She was also featured in a New York Times Magazine article some months back and I really think that the article in the NYTM was a way more realistic view of what these soldiers are going through. Its not enough to ask a soldier how they are adjusting. Its forcing America to see just how hard it is for them to live their lives post-war. Do we really want these men and women that we can see are brave and love our country so much to have to go through this? Yes we know they will be tough while Oprah is there and it will be really fucking inspirational. But that makes it seem like war is okay because they are okay to participate in it. Well its not.

I tried to step outside myself and think what a housewife in Idaho would think after watching this episode. All I can take away from it is that these soldiers are brave and if they would do it all over again then that means we are there for a reason, and that reason is to fight for America's freedom. I think Oprah had a chance to do a world of good and she fumbled and instead, sent the wrong message. I am not surprised, she had President Bush on her show when he was first campaigning for office and she made him look witty and like a good country boy. I understand that she is not a liberal talkshow, her purpose is to provide some fluff to our lives. If you are only going to do fluff stories, stick to them. Stick to Wynonna Judd's weight problem and the alcohol addiction of a backstreet boy. Don't do a half-assed job of interviewing presidential candidates and reporting on soldiers lives post-war.

She has the ear of the nation's women and she could be doing so much more than she is doing. It saddens me because she has done a lot to make women aware of their own needs, to take control of their lives and to be more conscientious people. She has created the Angel Network which raises millions and although I don't know what the actual numbers are, I think they have helped to put many children through college. She created the Oprah book club which got the housewives reading something other than Good Housekeeping, and then asked them to think critically about what they've read, which is wonderful in a country that has encouraged the suppression of critical thought even if all of the books she picks are thematically the same.

That's not enough. We are at war. We have a corrupt government. What is she doing about that with the incredible power of resources she has at her disposal? If you are going to show the atrocities of war, don't try to put a positive spin on it, Oprah. You are doing more harm than good. Show how horrible it is without the patriotic music playing in the background. Give the background information on the war, put it into the true context because a lot of your viewers don't have the opportunity to become informed by alternative sources of media. Don't take the safe road because, let's face it, you can afford a little controversy. You won't be standing on the bread line anytime soon. If you keep silent about the truth for much longer, the rest of the nation will be.

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