written by your's truly
April 4, 1990
Today's society is filled with war. Our children are not content unless they have plastic military toys outfitted in futuristic uniforms and weapons.
Many of our young men fantasize about being a famous war hero, the type that you see in the movies. They kill the bad guys, get wounded, get better, and fall in love with a beautiful girl. You can prove your manhood and patriotism when fighting a war.
Sometimes people ciriticize the term "peace". They say that only unpatriotic hippies promote peace. I disagree. Peace does not represent antigovernment and legalized drugs.
You will recieve honor if you fight in a war. Every man will have his moment in the sun.
A medal will not replace the legs you lost in combat. A purple heart will never remedy the pain and confusion a man endures when he relives the nightmare of seeing innocent women and children killed in a battle.
A letter from the president will not heal the young man mutilated by a grenade. It will never buy him a normal life and a family, two things he will never have.
And, perhaps most tragic of all, a carefully folded flag and a stiff salute cannot bring back a father to the young boy who will only know stories of the man he never really met.
Is honor worth all of this? Our country is something to be proud of, and to defend, but I think we could use a touch of reality in our lives.
War is not Good. War kills. War destroys.
War hurts.
You do not have to be a tree hugging liberal hippie to want to avoid that.