Unnecessary Praise

Well, it's 4:30 in the afternoon. Time to start a new day.

And as I begin this new day, one nagging question comes to mind: Why is the military and death always glorified?

And even more importantly, why are so many people infactuated and obsessed with it?

The youth of today can't get enough of their first-person shooters, where they portray military heroes ridding the world of the ever-present threat of terrorism. And we wonder why more and more recruits continue to join.

I have a very good friend who plans to join the Army. He is going to be a tank operator. And this deeply saddens me. More and more of my friends keep joining the armed forces to have their heads filled with bullshit.

I walked by the Armed Forces Career Center by my neighborhood (It's amazing how they give something so grim such an upbeat and positive title.) and I noticed that the first thing that I saw was a big sign that said "UP TO $40,000 SIGN ON BONUS!"

Thanks, Uncle Sam, for giving me whereabouts of what an average American earns in one year to put my life in the line of danger and watch my friends die in front of me for the interest of corporate moguls.

And that's just the beginning. What they fail to tell you is that that sign-on bonus is taxed so heavily that you'll only see about a quarter of that. You're better off working at McDonald's. There, you can still collect your ten grand and not have to worry about anyone trying to blow you to bits with a car bomb because they don't like the job you're doing.

So my friend who wants to be a tanker, let's continue on that. In order to get them motivated, they give them some music to listen to. The inspirational song that's played while you're "killing terrorists," most of which happen to be innocent civillians who we are supposed to be "liberating," is "Bodies" by Drowning pool.

If I knew that I had sunk to the point that I was killing people while hearing "Let the bodies hit the floor!" being screamed at me, I'd probably kill myself.

Another thing you're not told about when you sign on is the Stop Loss Program.

The Stop Loss Program was created to do exactly what it says: prevent the military from losing soldiers that it needs in a time of war. This means they can extend your obligation as long as they want, turning your four year obligation into as long as a forty-year obligation.

And if being a soldier is something to be so proud of, why have over 10,000 committed suicide? These soldiers are so emotionally distraught over the atrocities that they've committed that they feel the only way to make amends for it is to kill themselves. And all over orders they were given.

I just wish things would be portrayed with a greater sense of reality. That the facts would permeate through the bullshit. The fact of the matter is that we are not heroes. America has blood on its hands, blood of innocent people. And we are going to pay for it, whether karmically or the other countries get so fed up with our shit that they give us a taste of our own medicine.

I know that us Americans have always been prone to feel self-righteous, whatever we do is right, it's our Manifest Destiny. But put aside the bullshit ideal of patriotism for a moment and you begin to realize that we are in a nightmare. Except in this nightmare, the death and destruction is real, and there is no way to make amends for it. We've destroyed the Middle East so much that even if we left now, they would feel the repercussions for decades. We are going to pay for this, and unfortunately, it looks like we will pay with our blood.