Dream When You Are Feeling Blue

I recently finished the book, "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" by Elizabeth Berg. This book is a story of life during World War Two. The eldest child in the Irish Heany family writes about her life and that of her younger siblings. Her boyfriend goes to war. The author writes about life in Chicago during the war. As I read the book, I couldn't help but compare life during WWII to life during the war in Iraq. We don't have victory gardens. We don't have war bonds. We don't have ration books for sugar and flour or gasoline. We don't save our rubber or steel for the war effort. We don't have big posters of an intimidating Uncle Sam pointing his finger and saying he wants you. Yes, we have casualties. But families suffer in almost isolation. This war isn't as politically popular as WWII. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there were isolationists during WWII but I have never heard much about them. Today I wrote a condolence letter to a Blue Star Mom in Minnesota. It seems to me that unless you personally know someone who has gone to the sandbox, the war doesn't even seem real. This book got me thinking about the differences between 2007 and 1945. Things have changed a lot.