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Marc
Racine, Wi, US
Hi,
My uncle is (was?) a botanist who helped develop Agent Orange.
At the time, he was proud of his work, and felt he was contributing to the welfare of mankind.
Now he won't discuss that phase of his life.
I don't know if he was mislead to believe he was working on an agricultural project, whether he realized that he was working on what was essentially a weapon, or simply had his work misappropriated. I do know that he has become a rather quiet man, carrying around a load of guilt.
Patriotism can be abused, and we often can't forsee the consequences of our good intentions.
My hope is that our future history books will be objective, honest, and dispassionate enough to be
learned from. While war will still, in some situations, be neccessary, it should always be our last recourse.
Below is a Carl sandberg poem:
Grass
Carl Sandberg
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work -
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysberg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
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