Tuesday, November 16, 2010

“Possum Philosophy: It’s still a good time to thank a veteran - Southwest Virginia Today” plus 1 more

“Possum Philosophy: It’s still a good time to thank a veteran - Southwest Virginia Today” plus 1 more


Possum Philosophy: It’s still a good time to thank a veteran - Southwest Virginia Today

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:21 PM PST

By ROBERT "ROCKY" CAHILL/Columnist

This column is my annual piece about Veterans Day. Although it is being written prior to the event, unfortunately it will not publish until afterward. I do regret this; however as my editor, Stephanie Porter-Nichols, and I agreed, there is no "bad" time to honor our veterans who have often sacrificed so much to preserve our nation, freedom and way of life. We both agreed it should be done everyday not just one day of the year.
According to the website History.com, a temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied forces and Germany during World War I was signed at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. This is often cited as being "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." The next year it became known as Armistice Day. In 1926, Congress passed a resolution stating that the anniversary of Nov 11, 1918 was to be commemorated with "thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations."
In 1938 the day became a legal federal holiday. After World War II and the Korean conflict, veterans groups began pushing for a change in Armistice Day. In 1954, Congress amended it, changing the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In June of 1954 President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill making the change legal. Since then, Veterans Day now is legally considered to honor U.S. veterans of any and all wars (as well as peace-time service).
Oddly, this was not the end of change for Veterans Day. In 1968 Congress passed a bill, (the Uniform Holidays Bill) designed to give federal employees three-day weekends on holidays and hopefully encourage travel and tourism that would boost the economy. The bill started with four holidays, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day. However, many states did not like the change and so continued to celebrate Veterans Day on whatever day it naturally fell. This created a good bit of confusion. Also, many citizens protested that the date of the original holiday held patriotic and historical importance. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a new law returning the holiday to its original date of Nov. 11. For some reason, this change did not take effect until 1978.
Although I never served myself, I come from a family with a long history of military service, perhaps going back as far as the Revolutionary War (although we haven't fully confirmed that). We definitely had great-great-grandfathers, at least one from both Dad and Mom's families who served in the Confederate Army. During WWI my great-uncle John Cahill, my great-uncle Charlie DeBusk and perhaps others served, then in WWII I know of at least six uncles who served with two more during Korea and one in Vietnam.
My brothers, sister and I were all brought up to appreciate and honor all veterans whether they served during times of war or peace. After all, they are what keep us a free country. No, I don't always agree with everything our government does. At times I get quite angry over it. But it is thanks to our military that I am free to say so, to write letters to the editors of newspapers, to complain to congressmen and senators. Free to rant and rave to my friends and family in public without fearing persecution by our government, at least not legally.
There are things that have been done that, to me, should not be allowed by our Constitution, but they were not done by military. For example, I believe that some, not all, but some of the so-called Patriots Act goes far outside both the laws of our land and the needs of the people. But it was Congress, not our military, that enacted this legislation.
I know many good people who either currently serve or did serve in our military. They are relatives, neighbors, friends and above all good citizens. Our military veterans deserve far more recognition and thanks than they have ever received.
I hold great respect for WWII vets. These are the folks of my Dad and Mom's generation. I grew up under their tutelage. They taught me much I know about the world and how to get along in it. They taught me right from wrong.
They taught me necessary boy skills like how to use a pocket knife, how to handle firearms, how to catch a fish, how to cuss and spit, not to draw to an inside straight, and (after I aged a bit), they gave me my first tiny sip of medicinal beverages (done of course under threat of death if I told Mom just who allowed me to sip from their drink). Most importantly, they taught me what a man should be, loyal to friends, his country and protective of them as well as his family.
Sure, they had a few bad habits, but they were human. They were then and still are heroes in my eyes. They were my friends and mentors. They helped make me what I am, both good and bad. And more than anything, they had risked their lives to protect our way of life.
It grieves me enormously that so many of them are no longer with me. Yes, I am a grown man. I know all had their share of bad habits and a few of the good ones, but I still, on occasion, feel I need some of the guys to give me guidance. Or just to know they were there should I need them. Guys like all my uncles, or my great-Uncle Charlie DeBusk, or my buddies, Mom's cousin Cubine Clear and another distant cousin and great mentor of mine Bud Crusenberry, my good friends Willis Allison and "Old Sarge," Asher Stillwell. I miss them all. These and thousands more deserve our honor and respect.
At one time our WWII veterans numbered some 16 million. Now there are an estimated 2.5 million left and these are dying at a rate of roughly 1,000 veterans per day. Veterans of the Korean Conflict, the war in Vietnam and the Gulf War are also passing at an alarming rate although actual statistics for these were much harder to find. These numbers of U.S. veterans don't yet include those from the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
So though it may not be Veterans Day when this publishes, it will still be a perfect time to honor and thank all he veterans you know. They certainly deserve it. It is the least we can and absolutely should do.

A freelance journalist, Robert "Rocky" Cahill writes regularly for the News & Messenger. His Possum Philosophy column appears in each Saturday edition. 

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Model Diary: Dana Drori Talks Althusserian Philosophy - Blackbookmag.com

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:17 PM PST

Model Diary: Dana Drori Talks Althusserian Philosophy For the last two days I've found myself engaged in critical, almost philosophical discussion about the modeling/fashion industry with my friend Amelia, another model, who has had very successful show seasons and is now considering pursuing her bachelor's degree in order to then get her master's at MIT. We're levelheaded girls. Our long-term goals have nothing to do with modeling. We have both been fortunate in the sense that modeling has been our own pursuit. We were not forced or persuaded into the industry, and so we understand it more as a means to our personal ends, rather than the end in itself. Despite our shared sense of self-assuredness, however, we both often find ourselves interpellated (in the Althusserian sense) into the industry's ideology, in which we are replaceable and disposable things that have no personal identities.

('DiggThis')

I know I'm not saying anything new or shocking. It's the fact of the industry, and I knew it from the beginning. But what's shocking to me is how easily I have succumbed to its influence. I always thought that my personal life goals would keep me at a distance from the negative effects of my job. And they do, but not entirely. I am consistently immersed in an environment that perpetuates this treatment and understanding of models, that this is all I am, and it's with a concerted effort that I keep a sense of self, separate from the industry, thriving.

On Sunday, Amelia and I walked along the High Line, expressing these frustrations while being acutely aware of how frivolous we sounded. It's a strange duality, because we are emotionally affected by the industry, but it's difficult to validate this to our confidantes back home because their realms of experience are so different that we just come off sounding vain and vapid. Amelia and I—we know we're fucking lucky. By some absurd chance in biology and in cultural aesthetics, we've been given great opportunities to travel and earn money. But it's easy to lose sight of that when the system breeds dissatisfaction by treating you as a disposable frame and nothing more.

Five blondes, all the same measurements, are put on hold for a job. What sets one apart from the other? To the client, not much; it's a matter of taste. Modeling is a job where the clichéd adage "hard work pays off" does not necessarily apply. Because a girl can work very hard and do everything right, but her work ethic and her creativity and talent ultimately might not win out, when chance and taste are everything.

I'm sure the supermodels will disagree with me. But if they had any experience of being just a model at first, while trying to pursue other careers, then they should empathize.

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