"Over There" ... "Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition" ... "Say A Prayer For The Boys Over There" ... these and scads of other songs permeated the airwaves, juke boxes, radios and anywhere that sound could be received during dark days of wartime for generations. But not now!

"War" is now the word used by those who favor it and those who don't.

Where is the demand from government to make movies hyping our men and women in uniform, fighting and dying every day? Where are the composers writing patriotic songs? Where are the pumpers to get us all to help pay for a nation at war with savings bonds that might add up to the $187 billion in World War II dollars Americans happily came up with then?

The answer: nowhere!

I have raised the questions before about how come we could have promoted a profligate economy at home that ran aground while running up a wartime tab that seems to have no end? If oil is so precious, we have to pressure auto makers to produce cars that consumer less fuel or run on some other stuff, how come we have no programs to ration the black gold here so our troops don't run short overseas?

One reason may well be that this administration, as did its predecessor, keeps working at promoting its economic progress which we now know has run down quite a bit, with growth much slower than had been predicted, read bragged about. With all that, the pressure is to keep the battle going with no end in sight or any even modest description of what it looks like when we have won.

Perhaps Americans are both confused and discouraged. Certainly we are inexcusably apathetic in demanding leadership from both political parties who seem similarly confused, but, shucks, they get paid to lead, and it's our money they're gobbling up.

When you add all of this up, you understand why there are no new patriotic songs to motivate armies and civilians alike, why we cannot figure out what victory looks like and why it is ok to keep traveling, using oil and not worrying about material shortages needed for war. The reason: those who run the joint seem not to worry about it either.

Yet this is the same apathetic American public now being targeted to determine who should take over and carry the burden they will most assuredly inherit.

As we move toward the end of another year of  "Afghanistan Forever" with millions of Americans in the dumper, here are questions that demand answers … or at the very least … demand to be asked:

1.     Why are we in Afghanistan and what is our mission?

2.     Who is the enemy really and how can something called "insurgents" hold off the most powerfully armed forces in the world for so long?

3.     If it costs us billions to stay in the Afghanistan game, who is financing, training, arming and commanding the Taliban, and how are they doing it?

4.     Why does the government fail to tell the American people how this all happens?

5.     If we are at war, why is there no draft?

6.     How have the Russians suffered for being driven out?

7.     Why are these questions not being to our government by media?

Whatever happened to the music?

* * *

Joseph J. Honick is an international consultant to business and government and writes for many publications, including huntingtonnews.net. Honick can be reached at [email protected].

Wes Pedersen (11/09):
Joe, one of your best ... and so true. Washington, in an earlier war, teemed with military uniforms. Now, for eight years, they have been almost completely absent from the streets, despite the presence of the Pentagon, Walter Reed hospital, and the Naval Hospital. Two administrations have hidden the war from public sight. Obama's visit to Dover AFB to honor the dead came too slowly. Martial music? Stirring at NFL games, but invisible in most places. Even the traditional bugler for interment rites at Arlington National Cemetary is more often than not a taped, impersonal, truly insulting salute. The U.S. has no belly for this war, and that is due in large part to Washington's concealment of the human cost of war. deliberate concealment.

Fed Up In NYC! (11/09):
Unfortunately- as evidenced by Kevin Foley's piece of the other day- it is unpatriotic to be patriotic. Supporting a war? Not a chance ... What a shame!

PR Honcho (11/09):
Fed Up - Have you thought about joining the military to express your own patriotism? If you served, why not re-enlist?

Veep (11/10):
Foley's piece was about jingoism and over-the-top patriotism. It's ridiculous and embarrassing. Why do we have military flyovers at NFL games? It makes absolutely no sense financially or PR-wise. It's a split-second and forgotten five minutes later after the kickoff.

Fed Up In NYC! (11/11):
PR Honcho- My age and physical condition won't allow. But it hasn't prevented my sons from doing so. Veep - Forgotten after the kickoff? Speak for yourself.

Joe Honick,GMA International Ltd (11/11):
As someone why actually have 14 years military service between time in the Regular Army and Reserve, enlisted and commissioned, I would urge Honcho not to toss the idea of enlisting at any time, especially when some fine young men and women have been so misused. More than anything, I would hope our leaders of both parties would answer those questions, and the same for major media.

I would hope Honcho and our other friend GOP would send those queries to those wh0m they admire, including President Obama, George W Bush and Dick Cheney.

PR Honcho (11/10):
The problem goes back to 9-11. The nation was four square behind Bush. In October/November of '01, we went into Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban who'd supported and harbored the 9-11 terrorists. Then we cornered OBL.

For reasons only Bush and Cheney know, we stopped there, let OBL get away, then attacked Iraq. Afghanistan was all but forgotten. The flimsy case against Saddam fell apart but nearly seven years later, we're still in Iraq. While Bush dithered, the Taliban reconstituted, got more funding, more men, more arms. Now we are back to square one, thanks to Bush's misadventure in Iraq.

People are war weary. Unemployment is at 10+%. The economy is in the toilet. The GOP has been highjacked by right wingnuts who place their warped ideology before country. Music? How about consensus, Joe?

Wes Pedersen (11/10):
Honcho, your figure on unemployment is the one used by government spokesmen, but it does not tell the whole story. Factor in the people so disheartened by their search jobs, and other meaningful categories, and the true stat comes at 17.2 percent. That figure translates into almost one out of every five employable persons out of work. See my previous columns that include the figures that aren't included in government calculations.

Rene A. Henry, Fellow PRSA (11/10):
Joe, This is a perfect commentary for the week of Veteran's Day. Andy Rooney must have had a sneak look at your piece before his piece last night on "60 Minutes" about the need for a "No War" holiday instead of one that celebrates war. Every member of Congress, the executives at The Pentagon, and the leadership in The White House should be required to answer the questions you posed. Not only would most not do so, but would not be able to do so intelligently! Thanks for a great article.

On Tack (11/11):
Take a look at how the New York Times covers Afghanistan. Buried inside like page 10 and beyond. Even multiple deaths don't make page one. CBS and Katie Couric had a great series a week or so ago on Afghanistan, but too many in the media are burying the stories when they should be out front putting pressure on those in Washington.