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A few days ago I got the following email from the father of one the soldiers I was with in Afghanistan (I’ve changed the names):
Sebastian,
Regardless of your politics; the Afghan and Iraq wars need to be documented. Thank you for your effort and placing yourself in danger to do so. My son is with the 1-75 Bonecrushers; he was recently reassigned to Lt. Johnson’s platoon, though I did not see him in your photos, his name is Corry. I would be interested in other photos of the 1-75 troops if they are available for viewing? Stay safe. Regards,
Jon
In essence these are the words of loving and concerned father who’s desperate to see and possibly understand what his son is going through. But what struck me more than anything was the opening of his email, Regardless of your politics. I’ve spent the past few days thinking about this and trying to figure out what he meant by it or why he even felt the need to say it. Nothing in my photos or in my captions has any political slant to it what-so-ever. My only guess is that America remains so divided politically that if you suspect someone of having differing political views, you have to immediately absolve them of it, otherwise there’s no way of finding common ground. Am I right? Is America that divided these days? Have we reached such a low point that we have to excuse each other’s political views before we can talk?
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