War Is In All Of Us

Paul Watson gave me pause today. He is a Canadian journalist who won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of a dead American soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu in Somalia. Terry Gross interviewed him on Fresh Air.

This type of interview is public radio to me; deep, difficult, and sometimes raw.

When Watson took the photo he mouthed, “I’m Sorry,” to the other soldiers. The tone of his voice and the way he described the situation made me feel like I was there. It hurt.

When he described innocent people surrounding him, protecting him from a vicious mob, I could see it.

When he said, “I know where war lives. It lives inside all of us.” I believe it.

His memoir, Where War Lives, will be on my list.