A Debt That Cannot Be Repaid

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.

On July 4th, the anniversary of America’s freedom from tyranny, I glanced at the cover of the New York Times. There I saw a picture of a soldier who had lost all his limbs in combat. The caption read: “No less of a person.” I was so moved by the picture and the thought because it brought to the forefront the realization that war is hell! No question about it.

Each generation has had battles to fight whether on the field or in the trenches. Our generation is no different. And yet we are different because the conventional waging of war is not the norm today. Today we face enemies from within and without who wear no uniform, understand no discipline and follow no prescribed tables of battle plans or methods taught in the colleges of war.

Most wars are fought because of economics. Today’s wars are waged by zealots who’s only purpose is to create havoc while randomly murdering innocent people. The ultimate goal is to subjugate and dominate, we are told, because of ideological differences and religious intolerance.

I looked at the picture over and over again. The pain on the soldier’s face was evident. I wondered, “Was it the pain of his agony or the pain of his sacrifice?” Perhaps it was the pain of trying to understand and make sense of his offering. I thought of all the men and women serving our country that have made similar commitments of body and mind and tried to imagine how I would feel or what I would be thinking as I suffered through the ordeal.

None of us who are whole can truly understand the torment of living a different life that now requires constant care and help. The agony of not being able to wash or dress or walk or catch a ball; the anguish of realizing that there will longer be normal relationship with a loved one or a partner; the constant reminder that life consists of looking at a ceiling, or just reading a book or watching television, all come into play in the afflicted existence of a person who was once whole and vibrant.

Dr. Louis L. Mann, Rabbi of Sinai Congregation in Chicago, wrote two interesting observations that I believe speak to the problems facing the men and women who serve in the military today and have experienced untold horrors on the field of battle.

The first: “Only eyes washed by tears can see clearly.” There is no doubt that there have been nights and days when all seemed lost and the future looked even dimmer. Waking each day to the realization that what once was is no more. Gazing at the emptiness that once filled sleeves and pant-legs can be daunting.

The second: “What happens to a man is less significant than what happens within him.”
And here is the crux of the internal struggle that accompanies the loss of limbs. We all know that there are ghost pains – limbs that are no longer there seem to be calling out, looking at the void and wondering about the touching and feeling that gave it life and fulfillment. Where are the legs that once took us to places we can longer remember?

At a recent meeting of a veterans organization I listened to an Iraqi War veteran tell about his experiences and the marvel of science and how it put him back together. He lost a limb and one eye and modern medicine created a limb and a bionic eye. If he had not told us, we would never have believed. And as he displayed these wonders we sat in amazement and awe.

Then he made a startling pronouncement that the government, our government, which sent him into battle, refuses to help others with these miracles because it was too costly. Everyone in the room was shocked to learn that there are funds for everything but not to make people whole again.

We read about saving financial institutions and helping industrial giants regain their significance in our economic downturn. We watch, on TV, the millions of dollars spent in faraway places to bolster corrupt regimes. We discourage democracies by touting demagogues who want nothing more than to see us destroyed. We do all this but cannot find the will or the resources to do what we can to give meaning to lives that have been shattered by war.

These men and women serve our country because they want to, not because we demand it of them. We no longer have a draft system where we indiscriminately take men and women from their daily exercise and throw them into some makeshift environment and take time, their time, from them. All the more reason we need to acknowledge the debt owed.

Every day the newspapers relate stories of depression and homelessness. Veterans who gave their all are now living on the street and cannot receive the help they need and deserve. Where is our humanity for them? When there is a flood somewhere in the world, or an earthquake in a distant land, we load planes and send aid and help those looking for assistance. And we do this as a caring nation of people who understand what it means to have and not share. We do all this, and it is right and as it should be.

What happened to the compassion for us right here at home? Where is the connection to the people of Louisiana or Mississippi or Georgia as they struggle to clean their shores of contamination? Why don’t we feel the pain of struggling families who lost their homes or jobs? And where, Oh where, is our desire to pay the debt we owe those who serve our country by wearing its uniform with courage and distinction?

This country is involved in a great struggle. There is an enemy we cannot know or understand because there is no logic to their destructive behavior other than to dominate and control the very essence of our individuality. And it is a different world with senseless killing and unnecessary dying, scary and intimidating. But each instance has produced it share of volunteers and patriots and heroes. I would imagine the generations that fought in previous wars felt the same apprehension and fright; whether it was the Revolutionary War or the War to End All Wars.

We volunteered because we were motivated by love of country and understood the value of freedom. Each generation packaged the gift of freedom because the gravest error that can be made is to take freedom for granted. Each generation knew that it was their determination and fortitude that would protect it and guard it for the next generation and the next.

Not everyone is motivated by love of country. Most, however, answered the call to duty. In times past we would romanticize war until we were faced with the reality of it and all its horrors. There are graves, millions of them, on what was once, blood soaked ground and each marker indicates that there once stood a person who lived and died. That was then. What about now?

Now we, from the comfort of our homes, can watch the slaughter. We erect monuments and arrange parades and pin medals. Everyone seems to be an expert about yesterday. But through it all we still send our men and women to war because it is the only way humans have of protecting life and limb. We have not found the secret to survival through discourse.

This soldier who lost his limbs is truly “no less of a person” and we owe a debt that can never be repaid. He represents all that is good in us and all that is bad as well. The goodness is the sacrifice we are willing to make to protect, defend and preserve a dream that began 234 years ago and resonates today even more. The goodness can be found in the millions who serve, who give of themselves so that we can enjoy the beauty of freedom and the values established by a few for so many.

The bad is displayed by our indifference and the lack of respect we display by ignoring the traumas of these dedicated individuals. The bad can be found in our neglect of the homeless veterans and the disgrace in not giving them the proper care and attention because it “costs too much.”

Perhaps one day we will wake-up to our responsibilities. In the meantime all we can do is pray that those in harm’s way will find their way back home in peace and whole. In the meantime we should never lose sight of their sacrifice for honor and country. In the meantime we all pray that God will watch over them as we look with pride on their achievements understanding full well that the debt we owe can never be repaid, but we never stop trying.

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