Originally posted by J_A_B
Why does the 1000th matter more than the 999th or 723rd?
J_A_B
It matters because people like patterns. They like round figures. People live by patterns.
But of course that 1000th soldier doesn't matter as much as the first 100 because everyone is used to the idea of dead soldiers now. Everyone that is except the relatives and his comrades. Except of course his comrades may be used to casualties by now and he doesn't matter as much as the first casualty their unit suffered. They might even think; 'Thank God it wasn't me'. That's how they cope with the situation.
Of course he doesn't matter in the overall scheme of things because like the rest of us he was expendable for the greater cause. Like every footsoldier that ever died on the battlefield for every cause that his leaders decided was worth dying for.
We say we will remember him but we won't because we don't know who he is. We'll remember them all in a abstract way. 'They died in the war'. But as number 1000 won't be the last we will quickly forget to remember him. Perhaps only the last man down will be remembered.
No, mentioning the casualities and the quantities only matters right now for various reasons. Some people become uncomfortable with the figures because they support the war and the reality of dead soldiers is not what they want to hear. Some don't like it because it might hurt their candidtate. They salute their dead soldiers but wish it didn't get so much publicity. They won't like what I've written because it's not what they want to read.
Others use the figures to justify themselves. War is bad and that's the proof. They salute the dead soldiers but are glad if it helps their candidate or cause. They don't support the war but offer no real alternative. They won't like what I've written because it's not what they want to read.
The truth is everyone pays lip service to dead soldiers and use them for their cause. But at the end of day it's only the living that count, soldiers or civilian.
In the end the one thousandth soldier will only exist as a fading photograph and dimming memory in a loved one's heart.
