When I was a kid in Ohio, I played army with the older boy across the street. It was late in the Vietnam War, when politics were poisoned across the land. My friend’s prized possession—I was allowed to play with it on the rarest occasions—was a toy M16. It looked like the real thing, used by real soldiers in the real war—in Vietnam. But we didn’t want to play Vietnam. By the 1970s, who did? Even kids registered the widespread angst it engendered. So it was tacitly understood that our backyards were not Vietnam but German-occupied Europe. Fighting Nazis was a sure bet; we didn’t care that the M16 hadn’t been invented until after WW II.
I thought of this the other day when my 11-year-old asked why torture was employed in another murky, unsettling conflict. I often plead for time when I get a difficult question from my kids. Then, after contemplation, I produce a response notable largely for its failure to satisfy. This time, I delivered the inadequate response forthwith. “Fear,” I replied. Granted, it’s not much for an 11-year-old to hold on to. But I figure it’s probably not a topic she wants to dwell on in any case. I suspect that’s also true for the heirs to the suburban battlefields where I once snuck up behind obliging German phantoms. News of waterboarding, stress positions, and the like has surely filtered down to the neighborhood’s sandbox warriors. But if the video generation plays war at all, I wouldn’t be surprised if they train their anachronistic lasers on the Nazis. Given the choice, who wouldn’t sacrifice a little verisimilitude for moral clarity?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 28, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - airline safety, teleprompter gaffs, and more
-
5 doom 'n' gloom cartoons about the mess we're inCartoons Artists take on long-term pessimism, dystopian fears, and more
-
The Church of England's legacy of slaveryThe Explainer Should the CofE offer financial redress for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade?
-
Editor's letter: The snow in Sochifeature The Winter Olympics are currently being held in a strange simulacrum of winter.
-
Editor's letter: Why the NFL should worry
feature Behind the curtain, the view isn’t pretty.
-
Editor's letter: “Do-over!”
feature We have now entered the blessed season of the do-over: spring, Easter, Passover, baseball’s Opening Day.
-
Editor's letter: Why do baseball players spit?
feature This week has been a bonanza for sports fans, and my enjoyment has been heightened because my wife has suddenly become obsessed with the New York Yankees.
-
Editor's letter: Turning away from football
feature The suicide of Junior Seau has once again raised the issue of the brain damage suffered by professional football players.