out of sight, out of mind.

when i read about WWI, WWII and Vietnam, about the cold war and the gulf war, and others in the past, i'm amazed about how people got through day-to-day. i'm amazed that they weren't consumed by the battles overseas and the americans that lost their lives every day.

but then i hear about someone like kyle, who called into mmr's morning show this morning, and thanked preston and steve for what they do each morning. he said he would miss listening to them every morning as he headed to basic training in preparation to be sent overseas.

i forget we are at war sometimes. no one in my life is directly affected by the war, so unless i'm reading about it, it's usually not on my mind. but i am an american during wartime, and when people read the history books about us, they are going to wonder how we lived day to day with a president who lies and our people fighting in a war based on those lies. they will perceive that everyday, i woke up thinking about this, knowing the inevitable end of the war that has yet to end in my life. i don't know what's in store for us, and i don't think about it.

and i realize how, during those past wars, americans got through day-to-day --- they just lived.

everything i've read or watched about those wars gave me the perception that everyone was affected by the wars every moment of every day, because the history books understandably focus on the people that were affected, for the most part. they aren't going to do a historical account about me and my day, and they didn't do wartime focused movies about people that were like me during that time.

so in my ignorance, i assume this war is less important, dramatic, detrimental, than those past wars, because i forget that there were unaffected people like me in those times. and i don't yet know the lesson learned.

but when our history books are written, our descendants are going to read about a time when government lied, war went on based on those lies and lives were lost because of it. they are going to read about libby, and bush, and the patriot act, and ultimately about the lesson we learned by living through it all. they are going to read about the women who lost husbands and children, and the men who lost lives and limbs.

important history is going on right now, and i'm just thinking about what to buy my sister for her graduation on friday.