Pat Tillman should be an American hero in a way he never intended and that his family and football fans never imagined. Tillman should be a standard for those who oppose serial wars. He died as a victim, killed by his own team. His employer then lied about his death and lionized him as a war hero, which he was not, in order to promote more recruiting, and more war. Those who loved and respected him for what he did accomplish and for his patriotism, which he may not have had a chance to put into action, must make Pat Tillman’s heroism real. If they can awaken the public with the truth they’ve uncovered of the tragedy of dying in a false cause, perhaps without even knowing for sure it was false, then his death will not be in vain. He will be the hero. It is largely up to his parents, who now told the Washington Post they have uncovered the facts about his death and do not want to remain silent.
Pat Tillman’s wasted death can save other lives. His father and mother, Patrick and Mary, and his young widow Marie can expose much to the evil war that ended his young and talented life. By speaking out they, uniquely among all the families of all the dead on both sides, may save thousands or even millions of the lives that will surely be lost in needless neo-wars that we oppose and that do not need to happen. Tillman died because he thought the war was just. His parents and friends have a chance to show how cold and unjust it really is. Had PatТs father and mother not chosen to go public with their pain and frustration, Tillman might have remained a shill (Уposter boyФ as his father put it) for the
The machine that lied to Tillman about its purpose also lied about his mission after his death and burned his uniform and body armor to hide how he was killed. They insulted his memory by decorating him for an act of bravery he did not even have a chance to do. Every parent of every child should thank the Tillman’s for what they are doing for the cause of truth. No one can take away their pain, but they have the chance to expose the lie. There will be efforts to hush or limit theme to control the damages from the top, but the imbedded media that controls our flow of news cannot ignore them. This is why the Washington Post wrote their story.
The Post story would not have been written and would have received scant attentions had Pat Tillman been a nameless 19-year-old American who grabbed the job in the military because it was the best offer available. In contrast, he is probably the only American millionaire killed in active duty in
Tillman is probably the only professional athlete to volunteer; he did not do it for the job security, money or the excitement. He already had all of these. We say these things only for the world’s non-football readers; everyone who follows what is still called “sports” already knows the stories.
But determination, athleticism and even fame do not make a person well informed, nor do they inoculate him against lies. Parents, grandparents and peers must do this, and it cannot happen too early. This is a great lesson for all of us. Tillman thought he was defending the American way. We must not defend his error because we respect him. We must use his life to teach others not to make the same error.
Tillman must have believed the war on terrorism was real. The government has lied to make this what he is remembered for. If his parents allowed it, his image would be a life sized John Wayne type recruiting poster at every school and church in
Tillman’s unexpected and shocking enlistment caused agonizing self-appraisal by yours truly, for he lived within a few minutes ride of where I am sitting. Long before he enlisted any one of our Advisors could have, with half the determination of a Tillman, arranged to meet him to discuss our reasons for opposing the war–why it was wrong, who was responsible, and how a high profile athlete like himself with a powerful social conscience could have made a difference on the side of peace. We discussed Pat at an advisor’s meeting in the context of the importance of educating the few moral thinking entertainment celebrity leaders who seem to be driven by conscience and who may be willing to sacrifice more than a few of their many dollars for these beliefs. Tillman had this reputation. We Hold These Truths should have sought him out; our cause might have saved his life.
Tillman’s sad death was re-discussion was at another meeting a year later, after the reports of Tillman’s death, even before we heard the first rumors of “friendly fire” and “cover-up.” It was agony to see Tillman lionized, knowing his death was being used as a tool to recruit thousands of impressionable youth to take his place.
Cindy Sheehan, founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, in a recorded interview last week, shared some of the lies and unwept promises told to her 23-year old, now dead son. She speaks of more than 50 parents who have shared un-kept promises and outright lies told to their now dead sons and daughters. We are learning that Serial Wars require serial lies to keep them going.
May the TillmanТs refuse to accept a partial whitewashed apology from the Army, or even from George W. Bush. They too have heard all the excuses from Abu Gareb and
It was an isolated incident, poor planning at a low level, we goofed on this one, or the most popular excuse, “a few bad apples” did it we will court-martial someone to make you feel better.
Let us work that Tillman’s memory, and that of Rachael Corrie, will become a bulwark against false and phony wars. It is largel up to the survivors to make it happen, it is up to you, or readers, to encurage them. Here are a few quotes taken from the touching
“Mary Tillman keeps her son’s wedding album in the living room of the house where he grew up, and his Arizona State University football jersey, still dirty from the 1997 Rose Bowl game, hangs in a nearby closet. With each new version of events, her mind swirls with new theories about what really happened and why. ‘It makes you feel like you’re losing your mind in a way,’ she said. ‘You imagine things. When you don’t know the truth, certain details can be blown out of proportion. The truth may be painful, but it’s the truth. You start to contrive all these scenarios that could have taken place because they just kept lying. If you feel you’re being lied to, you can never put it to rest.’
The Post also quotes Tillman’s angry father:
Patrick Tillman Sr. believes he will never get the truth, and he says he is resigned to that now. But he wants everyone in the chain of command, from Tillman’s direct supervisors to the one-star general who conducted the latest investigation, to face discipline for ‘dishonorable acts.’ He also said the soldiers who killed his son have not been adequately punished.’ ‘Maybe lying’s not a big deal anymore,’ he said. ‘Pat’s dead, and this isn’t going to bring him back. But these guys should have been held up to scrutiny, right up the chain of command, and no one has.’
Parents are competing for their children’s lives
As an activist organization that believes in picketing churches that fail to stand for Christ’s calling to be “Peacemakers,” we would be remiss if we did not offer this advice to fathers. Do not wait for your son (or your precious little girl) to tell you that he has been recruited. You need to talk to your children now about the right and wrong of serial wars, even if they are only 10 years old. Even your church’s youth group may be subtly suggesting that it is “God’s plan” that they “defend their country,” or even “defend
Compete with the war games
Perhaps you should also talk to your ten year olds about the electronic kill games they are learning to play. Maybe you should watch — shooting war games with realistic Arab human targets who vaporize or gush blood when your child shoots them. If you have one in the house, try playing the game with your son (he will be much better at it) and discuss patiently what it means to destroy human life. Ask him what the game is teaching him to think about Arabs. Do not show anger no matter what he says. You need to learn what your 10year old is thinking about war. Ask him how he would feel if he was asked to play a real killing game that worked just like the game simulator, but from the seat of a Warthog, Apache, or a tank shooting real missiles or depleted uranium bullets. Plant the idea that life is precious.
Be prepared to sacrifice
One cannot talk about being a peacemaker without recognizing the cost. What if you talk your son out of a career as a serial war killer and the then economy falters? What if there are few jobs and your 18 year old has to deliver pizza? I have heard great advice lately, “pay off your debts” and “get independent,” but what do you do if you are neither independent nor debt free when your son decides not to take the military bait? Are you prepared to let him live at home, maybe with a wife if need be, while he works at whatever job he can? Are you prepared to let your son know he will never need to join the mercenary military to have a bunk to sleep on?
Do not kid yourself, mom or dad, if you don’t want to see your sons replace Pat Tillman, occupying a country where he will be hated, not for who he is, but for what his leaders are doing, you must also prepared for whatever sacrifice it takes. I have heard it told and believe it is true, that a man named Hutton Gibson took his entire family, including several sons, to
A few weeks ago We Hold These Truths wrote a story about our Orwellian wars in which we said:
“Tillman died because he was fooled by the very military he sought to serve. If any good can come of Tillman’s death or that of Rachael Corrie, who was crushed under a Caterpillar dozer probably given to Israel by our government, that good can only be if the truth comes out about them, causing millions to think.”
Let it be so.
Late stories about Pat Tillman and Iraq:
https://whtt.org/search.php?cat=2&pharisee=1&news_cat=1
We Hold These Truths bookstore: Don’t let your sons fall into the hands of the recruiters, Audio tape, Cindy Sheehan with Mike Holland and Chuck Carlson on
