In the spoken introduction to the below video, Bruce Springsteen talks about growing up in the 60’s — with war on TV every night.
This year, the war in Afghanistan became the longest United States military conflict in our relatively brief history as a nation. The war is not on TV every night, it really never was. These days, outside of an In Memoriam on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” the news media rarely mentions the ongoing wars, as our president perilously possibly pushes us to others.
In a Democratic Party Primary packed with candidates, only two have served, and only one talks about the war’s horrors and loss of life.
In the refrain, in 1985, a gravely voiced Springsteen shouts and pleads and implores the simple but powerful words penned by Edwin Starr.
That was more than thirty years ago — the question of the refrain remains the same, as does the answer — sadly, besides Tulsi Gabbard, there is no one any longer asking the question, let alone trying to answer it.
As powerful as the song is — As powerful as Springsteen’s rendition is —
The most powerful part is the imagery at the very end of the video — watch it to the end. The message is unspoken, poignant — and tragically, forgotten.