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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Very well said, Randy. Thank you so much for that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Fuusm-l <fuusm-l-bounces@fuusm.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Randall Kidder via Fuusm-l<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, May 27, 2024 11:58 AM<br><b>To:</b> fuusm-l@fuusm.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [Fuusm-l] Watch Edwin Starr - ("War -What is it good for") + Lyrics HQ!!" on YouTube<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://youtu.be/ztZI2aLQ9Sw?si=H0QFKo2sNKRvA95_" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ztZI2aLQ9Sw?si=H0QFKo2sNKRvA95_</a><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Hi all. I apologize for the following. And if is inappropriate, or untimely, I doubly apologize. The last thing I want to do is clutter up your email, take up your time, or come across as unpatriotic or whatever. Sometimes one just needs to unload a little bit and try to find which way is one's way. Regardless of how much flak or censure one might receive. I'm probably speaking out of turn. I certainly do not want to dampen anyone's festivities or celebrations. This particular holiday, for me, is too multi-dimensional to simply have a "Happy Memoral Day," even if accompanied by a certain amount of poignancy.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>🇺🇲</span><b><u>Memorial Day</u></b><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>🇺🇸</span> Remembering <b><i><u>our</u></i></b> fallen who gave <b><i>their </i></b>lives fighting for <b><i>our</i></b> freedom, (or what currently passes for freedom, but that's a separate issue). The holiday has an interesting history going back to the Civil War.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>😕</span> <b><i>"Happy</i></b> Memorial Day<b><i>" </i></b><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>😐</span> I'm seeing and hearing that all over the place. I confess, I could never quite get the "happy" part, but I am highly <i>grateful and thankful</i> for their sacrifices: just as, however, (and this is the crux of my issue) - people in other countries are undoubtedly grateful and proud of their own fallen sons, daughters, neighbors, fathers, mothers... I'm just trying to put things in perspective so I can wrap my head around all this and attempt to grasp the "big picture," whatever it is. Everybody is doing right and their activities, whether defensive or offensive is justifiable from their perspective. Everybody is right and everybody else is not doing the same right they must be wrong and expendable. Maybe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, gestalt, or whatever. I dunno.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Another phrase I'm hearing a lot is "God Bless The U.S.A." Implying fuggeddabout the rest of the world. Maybe not, but how about extending the sentiment to "God [Goddess, Tao, The Universe, The Great 'Is,' Waldo, fill in the blank...] Bless The Planet" So, anyway...<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>🏳️🌈🇦🇨🇦🇩🇦🇪🇦🇫🇦🇬🇦🇮🇦🇱🇦🇲🇦🇴🇦🇶🇦🇷🇦🇸🇦🇹🇦🇺🇦🇼🇦🇽🇦🇿🇧🇦🇧🇧🇧🇩🇧🇪🇧🇫🇧🇬🇧🇭🇧🇮🇧🇯🇧🇱🇧🇲🇧🇳🇨🇩🇨🇨🇨🇦🇧🇿🇧🇾🇧🇼🇧🇻🇧🇹🇧🇸🇧🇷🇧🇶🇧🇴🇨🇫🇨🇬🇨🇭🇨🇮🇨🇰🇨🇱🇨🇲🇨🇳🇨🇴🇨🇵🇨🇷🇨🇺🇩🇿🇩🇴🇩🇲🇩🇰🇩🇯🇩🇬🇩🇪🇨🇿🇨🇾🇨🇽🇨🇼🇨🇻🇪🇦🇪🇨🇪🇪🇪🇬🇪🇭🇪🇷🇪🇸🇪🇹🇪🇺🇫🇮🇫🇯🇫🇰🇬🇱🇬🇮🇬🇭🇬🇬🇬🇫🇬🇪🇬🇩🇬🇧🇬🇦🇫🇷🇫🇴🇫🇲🇬🇲🇬🇳🇬🇵🇬🇶🇬🇷🇬🇸🇬🇹🇬🇺🇬🇼🇬🇾🇭🇰🇭🇲🇮🇶🇮🇴🇮🇳🇮🇲🇮🇱🇮🇪🇮🇩🇮🇨🇭🇺🇭🇹🇭🇷🇭🇳🇮🇷🇮🇸🇮🇹🇯🇪🇯🇲🇯🇴🇯🇵🇰🇪🇰🇬🇰🇭🇰🇮🇰🇲🇱🇷🇱🇰🇱🇮🇱🇨🇱🇧🇱🇦🇰🇿🇰🇾🇰🇼🇰🇷🇰🇵🇰🇳🇱🇸🇱🇹🇱🇺🇱🇻🇱🇾🇲🇦🇲🇨🇲🇩🇲🇪🇲🇫🇲🇬🇲🇭🇺🇸🇿🇲🇿🇦🇾🇪🇽🇰🇼🇸🇼🇫🇻🇺🇻🇳🇻🇪🇹🇷🇹🇳🇹🇲🇹🇱🇹🇯🇹🇭🇹🇬🇹🇩🇹🇨🇸🇽🇸🇹🇸🇷🇸🇳🇵🇹</span>etc. etc. etc. etc. etc...<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>☮️</span> In the 225 years since c1800 C.E., more than 37 million (37 <b><i>MILLION)</i></b> combatants worldwide have díed actively fighting in wars, everybody fighting, killing, dying for "their cause:" Fighting for and defending what <i>they</i> believed was right, ethical, proper; or sometimes being conscripted and not even being 100% sure why they were being put in harm's way. (Remember Vietnam?) This doesn't include millions of civilian deaths from bombings etc, nor additional deaths from famine and pestilence directly caused by wartime activities. The proportion of civilian casualties to military combatants in conflicts has generally increased: in WWII civilian deaths outnumbered combatant deaths between 2:1 and 3:2. And, let's ignore all the collateral structural destruction. Or the loss of cultural artifacts simply because of religious differences: for example, the iconoclastic destruction of Buddhist and Shinto shrines by devout Christians and converts; or the massive destruction of the Library of Alexandria. Cultural wars. Religious wars. Political wars.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Sooo, how many are 37 million combatant deaths? That high a number is beyond my puny brain's simple comprehension. But... say I were to spend 8 hours a day, 7 days a week going over every one of their dossiers and thinking about each of those 37 million people for 5 seconds per person, it would take me over 15 years. People. Human beings. Considering not enemies, opposing causes, religiously or politically right or wrong, defensible or indefensible or whatever. But simply compressing each killed person's entire lifetime into a mere 5 seconds. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>🙏🕉☸️☯️✝️☦️☪️☮️🕎🔯🧎♂️</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The world population has more than doubled since I was in grade school, so I'm ignoring projections of what the world population would be now if it weren't for all the deadly conflicts. There's an upside to war? This entire matter does indeed get complicated.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Just sayin'... <span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>🎶🎵</span> "War. What is it good for?" <span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>🎵🎶</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> Happy Memorial Day<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Ok. I'm finished. Hopefully in the sense of having completed a simple task and not in the profound sense of "Oh man, now he's done for." <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> Sincerely - Randall Kidder<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>