Yesterday afternoon Brendan and I were walking through Harvard Square when we came across Alexander Brian Arredondo and his truck. The sight of his
flag-draped casket and trailer filled with crosses and crutches was so remarkable that we had to stop and talk to him.
Arredondo keeps a flag-draped casket with his son’s picture, combat boots, and dog tags in the back of his pick-up truck. [Brendan Greeley]
The trailer behind the truck is filled with crosses, crutches, and prosthetic limbs. [Brendan Greeley]
Alexander Brian Arredondo talking to Robin and Brendan this afternoon. [Brendan Greeley]
Arredondo’s son, 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Alex Arredondo, was killed in action in Iraq in 2004. Upon hearing about his son’s death, Arredondo was so distraught that he set both himself and the Marine van that brought him the terrible news on fire.
Since then, he’s been driving around the country in a one-man pick-up truck protest. He’s met with political leaders like Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy, attended protests across the country with Cindy Sheehan, and parked his truck outside the city hall of Alexandria, Virginia on election day. He even scored an audience with Richard Perle, who Arredondo says gave him $1,000 towards a scholarship established in his son’s name.
Listen to last night’s protest show to hear excerpts of our conversation with Alexander Arredondo, and look here and here to see comments on last night’s thread from him and his wife.
Hi All:
This is a perfect example of why the downside of an All-Volunteer Military is worse than the downside of a Conscripted Military. The main reason there are very few public protests is that the pool of those at personal risk for the actions of the powerful is so small — It is just those who know and love those who have volunteered for service. Such a small group cannot mount much of a protest — after all, they “volunteered.” We discount their risk because they “chose it.” How superficial can we be?
Unless we have a personal risk in a matter, we will generally NOT be responsive. That, my friends, is the huge downside of a “semi-mercenary, all-volunteer” military force. It shrinks the pool of those at personal risk and allows the powerful a more-or-less free ride.
We should bring the draft back as soon as possible. The downside of a “people’s” military is preferable by far to the downside of an “elitist’s” military.
Force rarely solves political problems. I thought the “might makes right” syndrome had died off, but it came back and reinfected a whole new generation.
The All-Volunteer army idea scared me back when (1973) and still scares me. I prefer the draft. I felt my generation bought into the notion way too easily because of their feelings about the Vietnam war. It scared me because it had the potential for being akin to a mercenary military force… you know, doing the bidding of the “commander” and not the bidding of the people. In a sense, that is what we have.
I felt the All-Volunteer army would strengthen the military-industrial-political complex, and it has. How has it? It has made it easier to go to war and easier to stay in a war that has dubious justification. It has allowed the elitists, mega-capitalists (those who gain from war) and other powerful people (who gain from war) to lobby and leverage for war more or less “risk free.” That is, their sons, daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters would not be at risk for the actions that they contemplate which more-often-than-not enhance their bottom lines.
If there is NO RISK to the powerful, there is no disincentive to put other people’s lives at risk for the purpose of the almighty dollar (or some other ideological or political rationalization). The All-Volunteer army allows that exact greased-track and if you don’t think that conflicts of interest about money (or stubbornness) don’t have influences on people’s thinking… think again. Unless there is a risk to the powerful, there is no check on their power.
Amen to all that, crankyboomer! I hope Mr. Arredondo is there in Wa DC this weekend… ^..^
I got to meet him on Saturday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andycarvin/371219057/
Though I must say I’m a bit confused. Above he’s referred to as Alexander, and at the protest he was calling himself Carlos. Isn’t Alexander the brother and Carlos the father? Or do they just look so much alike that I’m mixing them up?
Either way, I think I’ve got video of him hugging Susan Sarandon. I’ll have to upload that to my vlog, along with the other video I’ve already posted.
When Carlos Arredondo filled out papers to become a US Citizen many years ago, he requested at that time to have his name changed to Alexander Brian Arredondo, to honor his two sons – Alexander (the Marine who was killed) and Brain, as he refered to both of his son’s as “his American Dream”. Carlos received his Citizenship in December 2006, at that time his name was legally changed to Alexander Brian Arredondo. Legally Carlos Arredondo is now Alexander Brian Arredondo.