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I've just received word that a very good friend of mine lost his life on Tuesday in Lebanon during a bombing campaign. He lost his legs and part of his torso when a bomb hit while he and his family were hiding in a building, and died while en route to a hospital. He was on vacation with his family from Turkey about a month ago, but was apparently pinned down for a few weeks after the initial attacks. His parents and sister survived. His mother called me just before I went to work this morning and told me all she could. He was only my age (about 24).
I have to admit that until today, this whole thing in Lebanon has seemed like a history lesson to me. It was like reading about WWII or the Korean War in a text book. It's easy to stay disconnected, somewhat, from something if you are thousands of miles away and don't have any personal connections to it. I don't really have that feeling any more. I didn't lose anyone on 9/11. I did have a friend have his leg shot off in Iraq, but I've spoken with him since so it never really hit me.
To anyone who's lost someone in war or conflict, I'm very sorry. I know how it feels now. I don't know if this has anything to do with Politics, but this seemed like the right place to put it.
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