In the history of the world there have been few countries that compare to America in many aspects. It is my sincere belief that future generations will look back on their predicessors and ask a huge WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US!!!? They will look back and not be able to believe that we handed out free money to people who are not just down and out, but expect and feel they are entitled to "free money," not because bad things have happened to them, not because they cannot find work, but simply because they snuck into the movie theatre and now they want free pop-corn too.
Since 2008 the national debt has doubled. You can never spend your way out of debt. It's time to cut luxeries and start being fiscally responsible. Given the line-up of current presidential candidates (and I am not thrilled with any of them) I have my doubts that we are going to see a president willingly become unpopular by cutting entitlement spending, and that is one of the 3 things that NEEDS to happen NOW in order for our grandchildren to have a future that does not involve China.
The Fed government has had it's chance. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have done what needs doing when either had the chance. My faith in the political machine has ceased to exist. The solution as I see it is the exact same way any budget can survive, and that is to spend less than you make.
Three things need to happen and now, all by going back to the Constitution and stripping the Fed of it's assumed powers. The Federal Government, through Congress is authorized to (a) Engage in Commerce, (b) Coin Money, (c) Declare War, (d) create public roads, (e) postal service (f) tax. They are not doing a good job at those, and that list is no conclusive, just dredged from memory. What they need to do is #1. Cease the vast majority of entitlements. This means welfare reform right now. #2. Give big business incentive to stay in America=stop the megatax on the successful. Trickledown works both ways. #3. Turn off the flow of free stuff to other countries (no more borrowing money from China to fund abortions in Mexico).
Since I have no hope that the Fed will ever do this, it falls to the states and States Rights to take over. To some extent, Texas has done it, Arizona, Montana, Utah and Colorado has done it, what are the rest of us waiting for? I fear we are waiting for someone else to fix everything, because we are accustomed to it.
Now, a quote from the Declaration of Independence, "...experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably
the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is
their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security..."
This post has not been as well thought-out as some, it was more of a rambling rant, but I think that chunk from the D.O.I. sums it up nicely. We will sit and take it as long as we are comfortable. When it gets bad enough, we'll finally do something. I only fear that when the time comes, it will be too late.
Brothers
E Plurubus Unum, Rex Montis
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Lost my what!?
I sit here thinking about my knowledge of the world…and wish
I could slip into ignorance.
Often times you will hear me talk or write about sheep, and “sheeple”;
those that I deem ignorant of life, and of the world. This from my perspective
that the world is not sunshine and roses, that it is a horrible, cruel place at
moments. Sometimes I utter the term “sheep” with a hint of disdain. Recently
though, it is with a sense of longing.
This started after watching the 1st season of “The
Colony.” It had an amazing impact on me. Something so simple as a social argument
of entitlement to welfare and “free” was brought into stark contrast, as two
people decided they shouldn’t have to work, but were entitled to the fruits of
the labor of the other members. This is welfare at its base form. Experiment or
no, the members of the Colony were willing to fight, and maybe more, to protect
what was theirs. Yet I would be willing to bet that a few short weeks earlier, many
of them would have been proponents of “government support” and “entitlement.”
It’s a whole new world out there when philosophy slaps you in the face with a
handful of mud.
Why would I long for ignorance? Because I started to ask
questions, as usual: What must it be like to actually be able to go through
life with the utmost confidence that the world is a wonderful place? Are people
are basically good? Do all parents love and protect their children? Do all
husbands love and treasure their wives, never to raise a finger to harm the one
they swore to love and protect? Are those in need only in their destitute
position through no fault of their own, but through the circumstances that life
has thrown their way…? Unfortunately my answers are an emphatic “NO NO NOOO!!!”
Not from some philosophical and idealistic view point as some will argue, but
from personal observations. Yet, I find myself thinking, what an ignorant and blissful
life!
To make another movie analogy…it would in a small sense be like
Neo in “Matrix.” After taking the pill, there is no going back…but knowing is
so much more important than the fabricated reality.
I would love to think that events the likes of the “Great
World Wars” could never happen again, but I know in my heart of hearts those
events are already stirring below the surface of murky waters of our modern
time, that will soon be the histories of the next generation. I know that the
warnings of our forefathers to “never forget” have gone unheeded by too many. I
personally know people with masters degrees who have, in all seriousness, no
idea whatsoever who Adolph Hitler was, or what the word “Holocaust” even means.
That is the problem with wanting to slip into ignorance. I know that if I do,
the things that “go bump in the night” will raise their ugly heads once more,
and I will be caught unawares. Why? Because people do unspeakable things to
other human beings. They will do it because, “All that is necessary for evil to
triumph is that good men do nothing.” –Edmund Burke-
Some will then argue that there is no such thing as evil or
evil people, or absolute truth, or morality. That is a philosophical fantasy
that I cannot and will not afford. I have seen evil walk the earth on two legs,
and it is revolting.
I know how the fragile is the veneer of that which we call “civilization”
in which we cloth ourselves, how precariously we are perched on the edge of a
cliff, the system of “safety” we have created.
I know that one man can make a difference. I also know that
in the great scheme of things, there is sometimes very little I can do. But
what I can do is this; I will not lie back and say, “Eat drink and be merry,
for tomorrow you may die.” I will always look to the future with hope. I will
also hope that the world my children grow up in will be a better one, and that
they will not have to experience for themselves the things their father did in order to appreciate it. I hope they never have to lose what I did. We all lose it at some point, some of us to a lesser or greater extent.
What did I lose? I lost my innocense.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Injustice
The following is a partial excerpt from a MN newspaper:
Lidel pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to
fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and possessing an assault weapon
while having a previous felony conviction.
According to an earlier news
release...[issued by the Sheriff's Office]
An assault victim suffered a
broken nose in a violent encounter with Lidel, who threatened to stab the
person with a knife at the victim’s home.
People think that when the police show up and haul off the bad guy that he must go away forever. But so sadly this is not the case. Notice that this known criminal with a criminal record, a convicted felon, by LAW cannot possess a firearm. BUT, this criminal did not obey the law, he did not listen to the rules. Yet when someone gets hurt or killed with a firearm, instead of enforcing those laws and rules to the fullest extent, they knee-jerk and create more gun laws, harming the citizen, not the criminal. The outlaw will always do what he wants, because he does not abide by any law.
This criminal, was asked a question on camera as he was arrested about how he felt. His response? "It was fun."
THESE are the type of people we have to suffer in America. No remorse, not sense of right and wrong, no sitting down and talking about your feelings and making the world a better place. The idea that a wolf and a sheep can come to a "good" decision about what to have for dinner is laughable.
The end result after the conviction of being a douche' bag and putting many peoples life in danger?
...to serve 109 days in
jail, stayed for two years, with 73 days credited for time served.
What that means people, is that he was arrested for felony assault, terroristic threats, felony fleeing in a motor vehicle, felon in possession of a firearm, among several other felony charges, was convicted on most of them, (conviction of a felony is "supposed" to be a mandatory sentence of at LEAST one year and one day in prison) and he was RELEASED after being held 73 days. A judge "could" sentence him for 10-20 YEARS in prison...and this is mostly the judges discretion, with some of the discretion coming from MN Sentencing guidelines...
But this is our form of justice, give the criminal chance after chance after chance, and risk the innocent bystanders life over and over and over.
It's a grim world, and I see more of it than most. I just hope and pray that we can turn our justice system around, but as long as we insist on political correctness and continue to be concerned with people's "feelings," we will continue to slide down this slippery slope. Pray you are never a victim of a violent crime, because if you are unwilling to take precautions in advance to defend yourself, and you happen to live through a violent encounter, the justice system will disappoint you in the end. THAT is an understatement.
Lidel pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to
fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and possessing an assault weapon
while having a previous felony conviction.
According to an earlier news
release...[issued by the Sheriff's Office]
An assault victim suffered a
broken nose in a violent encounter with Lidel, who threatened to stab the
person with a knife at the victim’s home.
People think that when the police show up and haul off the bad guy that he must go away forever. But so sadly this is not the case. Notice that this known criminal with a criminal record, a convicted felon, by LAW cannot possess a firearm. BUT, this criminal did not obey the law, he did not listen to the rules. Yet when someone gets hurt or killed with a firearm, instead of enforcing those laws and rules to the fullest extent, they knee-jerk and create more gun laws, harming the citizen, not the criminal. The outlaw will always do what he wants, because he does not abide by any law.
This criminal, was asked a question on camera as he was arrested about how he felt. His response? "It was fun."
THESE are the type of people we have to suffer in America. No remorse, not sense of right and wrong, no sitting down and talking about your feelings and making the world a better place. The idea that a wolf and a sheep can come to a "good" decision about what to have for dinner is laughable.
The end result after the conviction of being a douche' bag and putting many peoples life in danger?
...to serve 109 days in
jail, stayed for two years, with 73 days credited for time served.
What that means people, is that he was arrested for felony assault, terroristic threats, felony fleeing in a motor vehicle, felon in possession of a firearm, among several other felony charges, was convicted on most of them, (conviction of a felony is "supposed" to be a mandatory sentence of at LEAST one year and one day in prison) and he was RELEASED after being held 73 days. A judge "could" sentence him for 10-20 YEARS in prison...and this is mostly the judges discretion, with some of the discretion coming from MN Sentencing guidelines...
But this is our form of justice, give the criminal chance after chance after chance, and risk the innocent bystanders life over and over and over.
It's a grim world, and I see more of it than most. I just hope and pray that we can turn our justice system around, but as long as we insist on political correctness and continue to be concerned with people's "feelings," we will continue to slide down this slippery slope. Pray you are never a victim of a violent crime, because if you are unwilling to take precautions in advance to defend yourself, and you happen to live through a violent encounter, the justice system will disappoint you in the end. THAT is an understatement.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
To Take a Life
I now want to pose a theoretical discussion starter that I
heard on the radio the other day. You are
standing by two sets of train tracks with a lever in front of you that changed
the path of the train from one set of tracks to the other. On the far set of
tracks are 10 people. For this scenario they are all "good people"
with families and such. On the near set of tracks is one person, equally
"good" with a family. Incidentally, there is a train coming down the
far set of tracks at a high rate of speed. There are no other variables, there
are no other alternatives. You have seconds to decide, do you pull the lever
and shift the tracks so the one person is killed? Or do you do nothing and let
the 10 people be killed. No one knows they are in danger, no one will ever know
it was you making the decision, and there is no way to warn anyone or otherwise
make an alternative choice. You stand there for the next 3 seconds and watch 10
people die, or you pull the lever and watch one die. What do you do?
heard on the radio the other day. You are
standing by two sets of train tracks with a lever in front of you that changed
the path of the train from one set of tracks to the other. On the far set of
tracks are 10 people. For this scenario they are all "good people"
with families and such. On the near set of tracks is one person, equally
"good" with a family. Incidentally, there is a train coming down the
far set of tracks at a high rate of speed. There are no other variables, there
are no other alternatives. You have seconds to decide, do you pull the lever
and shift the tracks so the one person is killed? Or do you do nothing and let
the 10 people be killed. No one knows they are in danger, no one will ever know
it was you making the decision, and there is no way to warn anyone or otherwise
make an alternative choice. You stand there for the next 3 seconds and watch 10
people die, or you pull the lever and watch one die. What do you do?
Thursday, March 08, 2012
World Perspective
It never ceases to amaze me, that the very people who tell me to keep an open mind and broaden my perspective, and that there are no absolute truths, are the very same people that are locked into a way of thinking with a very limited perspective gleaned from the media and are "absolutely certain there is no absolute truth."
This post comes to me after a wide variety of conversations had in pubs, on the phone, other countries, with many foreign nationals, other states of our union, in person, at dinner, and the ever-popular, online debate. I've found there is a whole WORLD of information out there, with a wide range of opinions. But Americans never cease to amaze me (good and bad).
I understand that most people would rather not discuss politics, religion etc. That is fine. But when you cross that invisible non-spoken barrier...then I expect a well-thought, well informed opinion, not just a knee-jerk-emotional reaction with statements on how you "feel" on a subject. Don't get me wrong, feelings are important and are a main source of drive for most of what we do. However...
If I propose my belief in evolution/creation with articulable observable facts, then I expect the same counter argument in kind, instead of ridicule and mockery without base.
If I propose the "archaic" right to defend one's self while citing the second amendment, then I expect an opinion yes, but a well researched opinion based on more than CNN's latest report on gun violence. Perhaps observable phenomenon such as the observable violent crime increase in Australia after implementing gun-control could be met with an educated opinion/response instead of laughter followed by mockery.
If I discuss a government conspiracy theory then I guess all bets are off, but I still expect an educated response instead of a laugh salted with mockery.
When I say educated I don't mean higher education, I mean research, reading an actual book or listening to subject matter eye-witness experts. To me, mockery of one's opinion with no opposing intelligent arguments is not a good convincer to the contrary. Indeed, it only continues to show ignorance while purporting the possession of higher, more enlightened knowledge...attempting to incite anger from your opponent in order to make up for your lack of knowledge on the subject makes you a jerk, not an academic.
Of all the names I could have picked, I chose "jerk" for a reason. Look it up.
If you have an opinion stated publicly and we discuss ACTIONS OF THE US MILITARY IN IRAQ AND US POLICY AS IT PERTAINS TO COMBAT VETERANS...I expect a truly informed opinion. If you disagree with my opinion and have never served your country in any fashion, have never done anything in your life for anyone else besides yourself, then I expect a systematic point by point reasoning based in reality, not fantasy, as to your main points in the discussion. Furthermore if you are a 22 year old single "adult" male, who left mommy right after high school (you know who you are) and joined the great world of academia and have never had a job and never left the United States and your sources of information are MSNBC, CNN, Wikipedia, your friends at school and Marxist/Leninist professors...then I would advise you to tread lightly when it comes to your opinion or you may just spout off in front of the wrong person and find yourself in an awkward position that involves internal bleeding.
I of course support everyone's right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But maybe, just because you can do or say something doesn't always mean you should. The random Neanderthal-biker-looking dude who is very proud of his country, that just happened to overhear your ill-advised opinion might not express HIS opinion on a website, just saying...
If you have an opinion and want to grow in your knowledge then talking to people and gaining perspective is important. I guess I simply grow frustrated with people who want to think they know things, but make it up as they go along. I grow increasingly frustrated when someone has an "opinion" that is based on nothing more than something they heard, it sounded good, so they are regurgitating to me as an original thought...
After that rant, the main point of all of this is that I have unrealistic expectations. I keep expecting to have rational arguments with irrational people. How can I discuss world views with a "youngster" that has never left their home state? What was I thinking?
This post comes to me after a wide variety of conversations had in pubs, on the phone, other countries, with many foreign nationals, other states of our union, in person, at dinner, and the ever-popular, online debate. I've found there is a whole WORLD of information out there, with a wide range of opinions. But Americans never cease to amaze me (good and bad).
I understand that most people would rather not discuss politics, religion etc. That is fine. But when you cross that invisible non-spoken barrier...then I expect a well-thought, well informed opinion, not just a knee-jerk-emotional reaction with statements on how you "feel" on a subject. Don't get me wrong, feelings are important and are a main source of drive for most of what we do. However...
If I propose my belief in evolution/creation with articulable observable facts, then I expect the same counter argument in kind, instead of ridicule and mockery without base.
If I propose the "archaic" right to defend one's self while citing the second amendment, then I expect an opinion yes, but a well researched opinion based on more than CNN's latest report on gun violence. Perhaps observable phenomenon such as the observable violent crime increase in Australia after implementing gun-control could be met with an educated opinion/response instead of laughter followed by mockery.
If I discuss a government conspiracy theory then I guess all bets are off, but I still expect an educated response instead of a laugh salted with mockery.
When I say educated I don't mean higher education, I mean research, reading an actual book or listening to subject matter eye-witness experts. To me, mockery of one's opinion with no opposing intelligent arguments is not a good convincer to the contrary. Indeed, it only continues to show ignorance while purporting the possession of higher, more enlightened knowledge...attempting to incite anger from your opponent in order to make up for your lack of knowledge on the subject makes you a jerk, not an academic.
Of all the names I could have picked, I chose "jerk" for a reason. Look it up.
If you have an opinion stated publicly and we discuss ACTIONS OF THE US MILITARY IN IRAQ AND US POLICY AS IT PERTAINS TO COMBAT VETERANS...I expect a truly informed opinion. If you disagree with my opinion and have never served your country in any fashion, have never done anything in your life for anyone else besides yourself, then I expect a systematic point by point reasoning based in reality, not fantasy, as to your main points in the discussion. Furthermore if you are a 22 year old single "adult" male, who left mommy right after high school (you know who you are) and joined the great world of academia and have never had a job and never left the United States and your sources of information are MSNBC, CNN, Wikipedia, your friends at school and Marxist/Leninist professors...then I would advise you to tread lightly when it comes to your opinion or you may just spout off in front of the wrong person and find yourself in an awkward position that involves internal bleeding.
I of course support everyone's right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But maybe, just because you can do or say something doesn't always mean you should. The random Neanderthal-biker-looking dude who is very proud of his country, that just happened to overhear your ill-advised opinion might not express HIS opinion on a website, just saying...
If you have an opinion and want to grow in your knowledge then talking to people and gaining perspective is important. I guess I simply grow frustrated with people who want to think they know things, but make it up as they go along. I grow increasingly frustrated when someone has an "opinion" that is based on nothing more than something they heard, it sounded good, so they are regurgitating to me as an original thought...
After that rant, the main point of all of this is that I have unrealistic expectations. I keep expecting to have rational arguments with irrational people. How can I discuss world views with a "youngster" that has never left their home state? What was I thinking?
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Live Like You Were Dying
I turn 29 this year. Of course, this gets one to thinking about one's accomplishments thus far. More importantly it's my last year in my 20's. Without being egotistical, I've probably seen and done more in my last 10 years than most people will in a lifetime. What will my next 10 look like?
When we were in the sand box we all talked incessently about all the things we would do if we made it out alive. To date, I have done almost everything on my bucket list.
Granted, some of those things were merely to kiss my wife every day, drink a beer, eat a pizza, enjoy running water, not complain about the small things, embrace the moment etc.
HOWEVER. I wonder how an average person would live the next month of their life if they knew they were dying.
"Over there," that was every day. Not much was done differently. Rather, things were done indifferently. How do you motivate someone to do what you want them to do, and who could die at any second? Promises of pleasures at the end of deployment? Threats of what could happen to you if you don't obey? Nope. Many an officer has attempted to break my old unit. Wo to them. They only wound up getting broken themselves. Litterally.
So what motivates a person to truely live? It is the inspiration of someone who acts out what they believe, someone who does the right thing when no one is looking. One who leads by example. One who embraces the suck along with their brother. One who does what needs doing, whatever that means. One who inspires you to have the back of your brother, because brothers are all you have. I tell you, that these are not just poetic words. I have known real men like this, who not only motivate a person to live, but if necessary, to die. This isn't just inspiration, it is earth shattering. Not a movie, not a story book, not a tale told at a bar. It is not just flowery words that can make men do what they do not wish to do, it is action, example and brotherhood. If only the man in every marriage and family could exemplify this standard. The world would be a more consistant place. In the world we live in, that is the best we can hope for.
I hope I can be that to my family, but these days I just feel like I'm going through the motions. That is probably because to be honest, life is a whole lot harder than war. There are so many petty things, so much drama and so much heart-ache. The battlefield is one thing...Walmart is a whole different kind of hell.
I made a bucket list while I was in Iraq. I swore if I made it back alive I would do some specific things with my life.
1. I would get out of the army for good
2. I would find a small community and settle down for a quiet life
3. I would get a job and be everything I could be for my family
4. My battle buddy and I would work together in the same small community
5. Same buddy and I would head to my childhood cabin in the boundary waters
6. When 1-5 were complete I would continue living the American dream while additionally embracing life, loving more, and enjoying the little things we take for granted.
7. Eat all the marshmellows out of a box of Lucky Charms (my wonderful wife set this up by the lake one day last year)
8. Refuse to sugar coat life any more than necessary. Be honest, be clear, be real. Be yourself. (oh this has backlash to be sure, but there is something so refreshing about being real. Living without an inner monolog has many advantages and disadvantages, but baby I'm LIVING!)
Now that all those items are complete I am almost at a loss for what to do next. I will be jumping out of a plane very soon (with a chute). After that, who knows? I wouldn't mind some input from my readers as to what you would do within reason if you knew you had only a month to live? We all die, and for the most part, few of us know when. To me, that makes this great adventure we call life all the more enjoyable.
I look around at my generation and am absolutely baffled at how many people are still not truely living.
Here's a toast to living life to it's absolute fullest.
When we were in the sand box we all talked incessently about all the things we would do if we made it out alive. To date, I have done almost everything on my bucket list.
Granted, some of those things were merely to kiss my wife every day, drink a beer, eat a pizza, enjoy running water, not complain about the small things, embrace the moment etc.
HOWEVER. I wonder how an average person would live the next month of their life if they knew they were dying.
"Over there," that was every day. Not much was done differently. Rather, things were done indifferently. How do you motivate someone to do what you want them to do, and who could die at any second? Promises of pleasures at the end of deployment? Threats of what could happen to you if you don't obey? Nope. Many an officer has attempted to break my old unit. Wo to them. They only wound up getting broken themselves. Litterally.
So what motivates a person to truely live? It is the inspiration of someone who acts out what they believe, someone who does the right thing when no one is looking. One who leads by example. One who embraces the suck along with their brother. One who does what needs doing, whatever that means. One who inspires you to have the back of your brother, because brothers are all you have. I tell you, that these are not just poetic words. I have known real men like this, who not only motivate a person to live, but if necessary, to die. This isn't just inspiration, it is earth shattering. Not a movie, not a story book, not a tale told at a bar. It is not just flowery words that can make men do what they do not wish to do, it is action, example and brotherhood. If only the man in every marriage and family could exemplify this standard. The world would be a more consistant place. In the world we live in, that is the best we can hope for.
I hope I can be that to my family, but these days I just feel like I'm going through the motions. That is probably because to be honest, life is a whole lot harder than war. There are so many petty things, so much drama and so much heart-ache. The battlefield is one thing...Walmart is a whole different kind of hell.
I made a bucket list while I was in Iraq. I swore if I made it back alive I would do some specific things with my life.
1. I would get out of the army for good
2. I would find a small community and settle down for a quiet life
3. I would get a job and be everything I could be for my family
4. My battle buddy and I would work together in the same small community
5. Same buddy and I would head to my childhood cabin in the boundary waters
6. When 1-5 were complete I would continue living the American dream while additionally embracing life, loving more, and enjoying the little things we take for granted.
7. Eat all the marshmellows out of a box of Lucky Charms (my wonderful wife set this up by the lake one day last year)
8. Refuse to sugar coat life any more than necessary. Be honest, be clear, be real. Be yourself. (oh this has backlash to be sure, but there is something so refreshing about being real. Living without an inner monolog has many advantages and disadvantages, but baby I'm LIVING!)
Now that all those items are complete I am almost at a loss for what to do next. I will be jumping out of a plane very soon (with a chute). After that, who knows? I wouldn't mind some input from my readers as to what you would do within reason if you knew you had only a month to live? We all die, and for the most part, few of us know when. To me, that makes this great adventure we call life all the more enjoyable.
I look around at my generation and am absolutely baffled at how many people are still not truely living.
Here's a toast to living life to it's absolute fullest.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
I Miss My War
I just finished reading an article online in “Esquire,” titled: I Miss Iraq. I Miss My Gun. I Miss My War. Written by Esquire writer and war veteran Brian Mockenhaupt.
As I read it I realized I could just have easily been the author. The writer was spot-on in so many areas.
One point rang home overall. “War is easy, you go out, survive, come back and do it all again the next day, no bills to pay, no chores to do…”
How could I miss being in a country I hated? Perhaps it is that I don’t miss the war that was ugly and horrible, but the one that was alive and exciting. Where you could die at any moment, but didn’t.
I also realized there is a reason that I am suddenly enamored by zombie, end of the world and apocalypse movies and books; I am missing a piece of the action, I am longing for a small adrenaline rush like a junkie looking for the next fix.
The writer noted the sound of racking a live round into a chamber before going on a raid. That description absolutely resonated with me. In my life there will be nothing that compares to that sound. Within that moment are packed so many memories of my firsts: My first patrol in country, my first raid, my first shot fired in country, the first time I got shot at, the first time we got ambushed, my first sniper hide, the first time I put cross-hairs on a human face and tracked his nasal cavity, the first time I kicked a door in…all of these firsts had the same thing in common, they were all preceded by a bolt slamming a live round into a chamber.
I know many vets feel the same. I know I am not alone.
I love God, family and country. I love running water. I love pizza. I love beer. I love so many things in this life. I also hate many things. Yet, in some small way, I would be lying to myself if I didn’t also say, I love war.
As I read it I realized I could just have easily been the author. The writer was spot-on in so many areas.
One point rang home overall. “War is easy, you go out, survive, come back and do it all again the next day, no bills to pay, no chores to do…”
How could I miss being in a country I hated? Perhaps it is that I don’t miss the war that was ugly and horrible, but the one that was alive and exciting. Where you could die at any moment, but didn’t.
I also realized there is a reason that I am suddenly enamored by zombie, end of the world and apocalypse movies and books; I am missing a piece of the action, I am longing for a small adrenaline rush like a junkie looking for the next fix.
The writer noted the sound of racking a live round into a chamber before going on a raid. That description absolutely resonated with me. In my life there will be nothing that compares to that sound. Within that moment are packed so many memories of my firsts: My first patrol in country, my first raid, my first shot fired in country, the first time I got shot at, the first time we got ambushed, my first sniper hide, the first time I put cross-hairs on a human face and tracked his nasal cavity, the first time I kicked a door in…all of these firsts had the same thing in common, they were all preceded by a bolt slamming a live round into a chamber.
I know many vets feel the same. I know I am not alone.
I love God, family and country. I love running water. I love pizza. I love beer. I love so many things in this life. I also hate many things. Yet, in some small way, I would be lying to myself if I didn’t also say, I love war.
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