Ever since Ellenville's Noonday Club nominated Eddie Ryan for its Citizen of the Year Award, this newspaper has noted a quiet but consistent murmur of disapproval among area residents. Always expressed with qualifiers such as "this is off the record," or "don't quote me on this," or even "if anyone ever found out what I think�," a marked uneasiness exists in Ellenville with the Club's decision, along with a genuine fear of publicly expressing these thoughts. The situation is notable on two levels: why are more than a few individuals dismayed with naming Eddie Ryan Citizen of the Year, and why are they so afraid to say it?

The fear seems to stem from a climate of complete intolerance that the war's supporters have created around the need to "support the troops." Any questioning of the war's moral purity is immediately seen as diminishing the sacrifice of those who fight it, and who would want to cause more pain to an individual and family who have already suffered so terribly? This very compassionate human response is cynically exploited by those who claim to "support the troops" to stifle any real questioning of the war. In their view, wounded veterans can only be used to promote the cause that wounded them. Any other view is immediately cast as harmful to the troops, and worthy of scorn. Thus those who question America's latest conflict bite their tongues, whisper to friends, or say nothing.

That Eddie Ryan made an extreme sacrifice is not in dispute. No one questions his commitment to the Marines and the loyalty he has to his country. He deserves the full care and support of our community, and from the government that has asked so much from him. But bestowing upon him the honor of Citizen of the Year appears, at times, almost unseemly. Are we honoring the fact that he was terribly wounded? Some of the uneasiness we detect is with the appearance that this honor in a way glorifies his injuries, and equates tragic sacrifice with some sort of benefit to the community. While there is no shame in returning home from a war wounded, there is no glory in it either. It is a senseless waste of a young life full of possibility, and should be honored by ensuring all his needs are cared for, not with a public spectacle.

If the award was given for his actions in Iraq, or just the fact that he was a participant, then the Noonday Club's award can be interpreted as a tacit endorsement of the war. If national polls are at all reflective of the people of Wawarsing, a majority of residents feel the war is a mistake and has damaged our country. To many, this failure is in effect what the Noonday Club is honoring. In much the same way the nation wonders what, specifically, the war in Iraq has done for us, we can ask the same question for Ellenville. What, specifically, has the war done for Ellenville? Short of costing each local family close to $4,000 � the current per-household cost estimate of the war � can anyone at the Noonday club point to a specific "benefit" the war has given Ellenville? Are we safer? Are we healthier? Happier? Are we truly proud of what we have done in Iraq?

There is no shortage of individuals worthy of recognition this year, and a good amount of the uneasiness we note is with the decision by the Noonday Club to honor war over health, culture, and art. Steve Kelley has presided over a nearly miraculous turnaround at Ellenville Regional Hospital, and saved a vital community institution from almost certain extinction. The work of Dennis Warner, Tim Lukaszewski and Eric Aiese at WELV has given us a truly unique and precious community resource � a local radio station. And what about all of those involved in Ellenville's arts alliance, particularly Judy and Phil Sigunick, whose work this summer with the 10x10x10 and AWE exhibitions turned empty storefronts into an outdoor museum? All of these individuals have made tangible, significant contributions to our community, and if the accomplishments of past winners are any measure, all deserve the award as well.

The issues surrounding the war are too complex, too morally ambiguous to expect one young man's experience to represent a community's attitude towards the war. And what bestowing the award did is deny these complexities, and ignore the real pain a significant part of the community feels about the war. At best the award was an honest but grossly insensitive attempt to reach out to a family in need. At worst, and what many justifiably fear, the award was used by some in the Noonday Club to advance a particular political agenda, in a heavy-handed attempt to force acceptance of a war from a public less and less willing to comply.

COMMENTS about this article (5)