Tuesdays With Seymour

Last night I attended a lecture with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh. Captivating, to say the least.

I wasn't quite sure as to why there were several armed police officers patrolling the grounds. Maybe it was to ensure that we were all properly fingerprinted and photographed . Years from now I'll wonder why I never got that one job...only kidding.

I've had my reservations with Mr. Hersh coming into the lecture. Primarily questions about how he gets his sources, and if his latest dramatic writings do in fact reflect the state of our country. Not only did he dispel my skepticism, he also gave me new insight as to what I think of the world today.

If you clicked on the link I posted with his name above, you'll notice (or may have already known) his exposure of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. He explained in his lecture that the soldiers that took part in the killings weren't bad people (he rally emphasized that), but instead young men put in a position where they are no longer human beings but machines. "They're on the buddy system over there," he said. "When you put someone in a position where several of his buddies were ambushed and killed, that person is going to want kill something- someone. It's just human nature, you know, revenge." He went on to say that he did not defend what these soldiers did, and admitted they were horrible acts that they had to be held accountable for. He's just saying that they aren't bad people.

Hersh used My Lai as a stepping stone to bridge the similarities with that war, and the war we're currently fighting. He wrote a very emotional piece regarding the prison at Abu Gharaib. I'll let you search for that yourself if you decide to, but be warned. It is very disturbing.

He told us a story last night about how his highly decorated friend in the Jewish military (who "hates Plaestinians and Arabs") told him that as much as he hates Arabs, they would never humiliate them by sexual assault. I'll keep this short, but Hersh describes the prison as having Arabs (young and old) left nude in their cells when it's written explicitly in the Qur'an about the teachings of nudity. Basically, it's an deep insult that we're leaving them like that, and Hersh's friend says we'll be paying for these atrocities. "Take their eye, arm, leg off, but do not humiliate them sexually."

Hersh emphasized that what we're going to see in the wake of this war is "a wave of very troubled" individuals. He reported that not only is the military handing out sleep aid Ambien, but now distributing anti-depressant Zoloft, much to the dismay of the crowd.

I'll let you decide on your own how you feel about these pressing issues, or you can just ignore that they are there. Someone asked, "Seymour, is there any hope?"

"Of course there's hope," he exclaimed.

"Read more, think more. There is definitely hope."