A song cannot change the world,” he declared. “But this many people can change the world. How do we know? It is stitched into the fabric of our flag and it is welded into our constitution that we have the right and the responsibility to make change.”
There was some monstrous musical festival in the middle of Tennessee last week. Bonnaroo. It’s a liberal thing actually, politically speaking. Pearl Jam was there – along with many, many others – with Eddie Vedder singing ‘No More War’, a song he wrote for Tomas Young, the young soldier turned antiwar activist in reaction to the idiocy of the Iraq War following his traumatic injuries four days after being ‘in country.’
I ran across a bit of news on Tomas’ recent hospitalization from a note written by Ellen Spiro, co-producer of ‘Body of War’ with it apparently posting over at Huffington Post; I found it via Silobreaker. It was an inadvertent find since I was reading up and looking over some stuff on Tom Morello.
On May 23 last month Tomas Young suffered a pulmonary embolism in the middle of the night and was found in his home the next day– in a coma. He has been struggling to get better ever since, and is still able to infuse humor into the scariest and darkest moments.
Tomas served as Executive Producer the film’s companion album, Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran, featuring 23 songs chosen by Tomas, including songs by Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Tom Morello, Michael Franti, Bright Eyes, Lupe Fiasco, Tori Amos, Public Enemy and Serj Tankian. Tomas designated the Iraq Veterans Against the War to receive the profits from this album.
Tomas and his family have been on a medical roller coaster ride, in and out of the I.C.U., with rapid improvements followed by sudden setbacks. Tomas began to improve and was talking and cracking more jokes when he was struck with an infection that left him back in an unresponsive state in intensive care.
Supportive correspondence can be sent to Tomas at:
St. Luke’s Hospital, 4401 Wornall, Kansas City, MO 64111
Filed under: Body of War, Iraq Conflict, Iraq War Vets, Politics, Tomas Young
Yet another of Dipshit-In-Chief’s “legacy”
So tragic. And so utterly unnecessary.
Dallas Video Festival presents
Friday, Nov. 7
10:15PM
Body of War
By Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue
After serving less than a week in Iraq, Tomas Young is paralyzed from a bullet to his spine. This documentary tells the story of his coming home and how he comes to terms with his disability. He also finds a voice against the war for which he volunteered. Songs by Eddie Vedder. 87 min
Angelika Film Center, Mockingbird Station
214-428-8700
See these links for publicity regarding this film
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/REVIEWS/805150302
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03212008/profile.html