Americans do not kill women, civilians or old people in battle, which should be a great relief to the people of Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and a few hundred napalmed Vietnam villages. Vietnam wasn't a neat war. Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam veteran, recalls stopping a couple of old women in a rice paddy ready to set off bombs with their toes. It's hard to make exceptions for women and children, when women and children are throwing bombs and shooting guns. It's like the Confederacy complaining about Sherman's March to the Sea being rude.
War is hell.
I have to wonder how many soldiers in other wars had experiences similar to Kerrey's and did something so awful that they buried it in their psyche where no one could ever dig it out. Then, there's been a constant talk over the past few years of raising teacher salaries because it is a shock and a shame that Iowa is below average in teacher pay. It ranks 34th in the nation. That would make them 15th highest. The problem with the logic is that there is no reason to assume Iowa is average.