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I defy you to get through this program without crying. Even Heather's great mashup of the show had tears streaming down my face. On this week's Bill Moyers Journal, Moyers spoke with Phil Donohue and Ellen Spiro about their new documentary feature Body of War, focusing on paralyzed Iraq vet Tomas Young.
DONAHUE: My inspiration for this film was the naked child running from the napalm. Remember that Vietnam picture? I mean, terrified, this little girl is totally naked. You can see the black smoke in the back. That picture won a Pulitzer Prize. See the pain. Don't sanitize the war.
If you're gonna send young men and women to fight for this nation, tell the truth. That's one of the biggest reasons for the First Amendment. And we haven't been. And so I thought I will tell the story, the real story of the harm in harm's way.
You definitely see the pain and the truth while watching Tomas and his family cope with his injuries and try to find a way to give Tomas as much dignity and life as he can. I cannot speak highly enough of this little microcosm of tangible reality for a war made purposefully abstract so that we remain apathetic to it. You can watch the full episode at PBS.com and order the soundtrack, featuring music by Eddie Vedder here.