Am dritten Januar starb Andrew Olmsted. Andrew Olmsted war Soldat, er war Blogger (From the Front Lines), und er starb bei einem Anschlag im Irak.
Olmsted, however, asked everyone to avoid being maudlin. And he asked everyone via a blog, of course. The 38-year-old soldier based out of Fort Carson was a prolific blogger — including one he did steadily for the Rocky Mountain News dating back to his deployment in July.
[ The Rocky Mountain News: Rocky blogger Major Andrew Olmsted killed in Iraq ]
Und als richtiger Blogger mit Herz und Blut hat er bereits vor einiger Zeit seinen letzten Post formuliert und seine Bloggerkollegin gebeten, diesen im Falle seines Todes zu veröffentlichen:
Andrew Olmsted, who also posted here as G’Kar, was killed yesterday in Iraq. Andy gave me a post to publish in the event of his death; the last revisions to it were made in July.
G’Kar ist ein Charakter von Babylon 5, einer Science Fiction Serie aus den Neunzigern. Hier sind ein paar Auszüge seiner famous last words:
Believe it or not, one of the things I will miss most is not being able to blog any longer. The ability to put my thoughts on (virtual) paper and put them where people can read and respond to them has been marvelous, even if most people who have read my writings haven’t agreed with them. If there is any hope for the long term success of democracy, it will be if people agree to listen to and try to understand their political opponents rather than simply seeking to crush them.
[…]
Blogging put me in touch with an inordinate number of smart people, an exhilarating if humbling experience. When I was young, I was smart, but the older I got, the more I realized just how dumb I was in comparison to truly smart people. But, to my credit, I think, I was at least smart enough to pay attention to the people with real brains and even occasionally learn something from them. It has been joy and a pleasure having the opportunity to do this.
[…]
I do ask (not that I’m in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn’t a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. If you think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, don’t drag me into it by claiming that somehow my death demands us staying in Iraq. If you think the U.S. ought to get out tomorrow, don’t cite my name as an example of someone’s life who was wasted by our mission in Iraq.
[…]
On a similar note, while you’re free to think whatever you like about my life and death, if you think I wasted my life, I’ll tell you you’re wrong. We’re all going to die of something. I died doing a job I loved. When your time comes, I hope you are as fortunate as I was.
[ ALLES LESEN: Obsidian Wings – Andy Olmsted ]
Es heißt, im Krieg gäbe es kein Schwarz und kein Weiß, es gäbe nur Grau. Nach dem Lesen seines letzten Artikels und seines Blogs denke ich: So viel Farbe habe ich schon lange nicht mehr gelesen.
[ via Joho the Blog, Handelsblatt ad hoc ]
Nachtrag (06.01.2008)
- Interview with Andrew Olmsted (Bloggasm: Was it good for you?, 10. July 2006)
- Andrew Olmsted’s Blog von August 2007 bis Februar 2007
- Andrew Olmsted’s Blog Juli 2001 bis März 2002