Invested in the Numbers

I find I am more invested in this war and the toll it is taking than I ever was before. I felt strongly about it, but now I guess I feel it more deeply, now. When I was away in New York, I was not able to check the latest statistics and keep the count up to date. I expected to find a change when I got home, but was happily surprised to see the count remained unchanged. As the week went on, I began to realize we had more than a week with no fatalities. I don't think we had ever gone that long without losing a soldier.

Then I went to the home page of the site, and saw an article about a veteran from South Carolina who had committed suicide. He was pictured in a photo that got wide circulation, early in the war, showing him carrying a young Iraq boy to get medical help. He ultimately received several honors for his service in Iraq. But, the war took it's toll. He apparently died of an overdose. Another soldier lost, who will not be counted.

My small excitement about the stretch of time that had passed without a casualty was immediately dissipated.

I also noticed the large number of articles about attacks in Iraq with fatalities. The number of Iraqis dying in this war is still incredibly high. Since I started working on this project, the death toll of soldiers has climbed by about 230. Over the same time period the death toll for the Iraqi civilians, has climbed by about three to four thousand, according to the Iraq Body Count. And that is considered a more conservative estimate than most of those trying to keep track. Nearly fifteen to twenty Iraqi civilians are dying for each soldier we lose.

There are many, many cranes left to be folded. Maybe you can join in and fold one, or ten, or one hundred.