Are we being taken for fools at the hands of a few rich politicians?, is that why we are soft on illegal immigration, a society overburdoned with with crime, drunk drivers, druggies, gangs and yes, even BANKS!? It's been almost 65 years now since Americans could hold their heads high in a fight against a common enemy, and it's nothing short of criminal that every war fought since WWII has been fought for the wrong reasons.
Washington's power-elite spews out millions of words in print and on the Internet to convince the American public of the righteousness of a particular cause/war, but only those with the potential to make them their next fortune. Hiding behind a wall of faux patriotism, speechifying to the American public about sacrifice and protecting the country against terrorism, inflaming the media with their breathless and dramatic announcements. Nice try boys, but Woodward and Berstein taught us the days of falling for that are over. Now we need to figure out how we deal with it.
Even after all this time, we still don't really know why our sons, daughters, dads, uncles, husbands, etc gave up their lives in Korea, Viet Nam, Persian Gulf or anywhere else. You could say they did it in the service of their country, but it's hard for the folks back home that to embrace that notion when Bob, Bill or Ronny are killed in a rice-paddy, 10,000 miles from our nearest shore in a country where no one wants them! What defending your country should really be all about is squatting inside a bunker on the beach in Oceanside, 50 cal machine guns ready to repel boarders?
Never fear, the United States Marines will do their jobs and obey lawful orders as they have been trained to do, no matter the cause. Ready to make the supreme sacrifice, to die in defense of their country. Unfortunately, America has changed, why would anyone die for a country as messed up as ours is right now? If you want to see a soldier die for his country in a fit of patriotism – go to the movies! A loud sound track, lots of shooting and things blowing up, tattered flags waving and the hero well, he's the guy riddled by machine-gun fire who dies while clutching the American flag. The Marines I know are just trying to make it back alive – that's their only revenge against the desk jockeys that sent them there.
Ten minutes ago, though, the world was very simple, for it consisted solely of something that seemed like one gigantic explosion. Actually, it was three separate large explosions within half seconds of one another, but it’s fairly difficult to make the distinction when you’re lying on your back with your ears ringing. However, it’s fairly easy to think rapidly and incoherently, which was exactly what I was doing as I lay on my back, wondering whether my hearing would return this time, and, incidentally, what in the hell had just happened to me and my men.
