Remembering a time when war meant sacrifice

Thanks to Gilbert Sandler ("It still lives in Infamy," Dec. 7) for reminding us of some of the costs of war in his account of Baltimore after Pearl Harbor. What a contrast with today. Our leaders can carry on wars without affecting most of us one bit. No danger, no draft, no rationing, no tax increase, no blackouts. Only if we serve in the armed forces or have a family member there do we suffer anything. We do not even have to pay for the war — we can borrow to cover the cost.

It is almost enjoyable and certainly exciting. Remember "shock and awe" when we could sit in our living rooms watching missiles explode in Baghdad, blissfully unaware of the thousands of civilians whose bodies were being torn apart in that city? It was like the Fourth of July at the Inner Harbor.

It gets even easier. With missile-carrying drones piloted from Langley or Denver, we can pinpoint our killing with no danger to our own men. See the jeep running on a desert track in Yemen? It probably contains a terrorist. Poof, it is erased. Oh, there were non-combatants with him? Oh well, collateral damage. See the house in Afghanistan, it probably houses a terrorist. Poof, it is destroyed with all its occupants. Oh, they were civilians? Oh well, collateral damage. War becomes a video game, with about as much regard for its consequences.

Thank goodness we can live our lives untroubled about what our government does in our name.

George Wagner, Baltimore