WAR....Good God Y'all.

I found myself watching a music video which had used scenes from  the movie Saving Private Ryan.  This video was also set to my favorite song and that may be what has me started on this emotional rant. While watching the video, I found it to be quite graphic and began to imagine how horrible it would be to actually live through something like that.  I am not referring to survivors remorse or PTSD or any other after effects of war but just to have the experience and the images that result from it burned into your memory until you either lose your mind and forget or pass on.

I have never been a fan of war and find it silly that there are people willing to go fight and put their lives on the line for some aristocrat (or politician, if you prefer) that they have never met. All for the sake of “saving the country.”  Are they really doing that or are they pawns in a chess board that these evil leaders have and are being pushed around to see how much chaos they can cause for the peons that depend on them to rule the masses.  It truly is something to think about.  Think about it I have. ALL DAY LONG.  There was some lag time at work and we were sharing YouTube videos to keep each other ‘s momentum for work.  Usually, they are funnies but this particular day it was all music.  Not so interested in what other people listen to, I went on my own and began watching the video I mentioned earlier.  Since then, I have been thinking about this war issue and it is eating away at my very gut because it is a horrible, horrible situation to put people in and they go into these thing so willingly and blindly and come back disturbed, maimed, damaged, dead, or not at all.

Looking at the excerpts from Saving Private Ryan, it was a reference to the D-Day invasion at Normandy.  I am certain the movie creators did their best to depict the raid historically accurate and with the technology available during that particular war, people were watching their team mates and friends blown to bits not even inches away.  That is something I cannot even fathom.  To be in the middle of all that fire and all that destruction; trying to cover your own ass and not get killed yourself and to turn your head and see the person you have become best friends with or the person that “has your back” simply explode into bloody hell has got to be a very sobering experience, no matter how cold hearted you are.

Yet people do it…..every….single….day.

For powers that are who could care less about them as an individual. Only that they are of the masses that are sent to fight a war that likely started off as a spat between two spoiled people with a bit of power underneath them to intimidate and show that they can run things. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Now, for you readers that know my philosophical side must know that I am to touch on the whole good vs. evil argument and the Utility of it all.  Because of the very nature of humans, they have to have some sort of control over things or there would be mass chaos.  They even have to exhibit control over themselves or there would be no such thing as good at all.  Life would be unbearable and mortality would be as close to triple digits as it can get without eradicating the whole species.  So, there must be control and not everyone is a leader.  Those of us who choose to step back and let others do this messy business of being leaders remain the sheep, or the pawns in the chessboard for the ones who WANT and DO lead (yes, not can and are able to because not all leaders can lead and not all leaders are able to lead,) to push around and play their sick little game. I refer to it as a sick little game because when people find themselves in positions of power, they tend to become corrupt and use it for a personal agenda instead for that of the greater good.

We have the evil people in power pushing the “good” people around the chessboard. These good people would continue on with their lives without even knowing that there is a spat going on amongst them in power and would not care in the least about it. HOWEVER, the powerful use the masses to push their agendas of greed and such and it directly affects the masses and they are pushed into the conflict. When that happens, the masses become aware of the powers conflicts and begin to form an opinion of sorts while others simply go off to fight whatever fight they have been sent to fight blindly believing that they are doing something for the greater good.  Maybe it is to protect their own lands but they are away from their homes and families.  In the modern world, that is protecting the home land from afar but at what cost?  Yes, there are horrible bombs and things that are capable of mass destruction but when there are multiple nations involved, what is it really protecting? Sure, we have so called friends and allies that we have agreed to help when they are being bullied by another country but, think about it.

You are fighting in a war because those in power are having an angered dispute about something political or some selfish disagreement has occurred and those people are causing YOU….the insignificant non leaders in the human race to go an risk your lives to watch yourself be horribly disfigured or to watch someone you have come to know as your friend or acquaintance blown to bits right in front of you.  For you to sit there and inhale their blood-spray or to eat a chunk of their flesh as you scream in horror at the atrocities that are going on around you, is unspeakable.  All this mayhem while the political aristocracies are sitting in their big rooms throwing about orders that will get you and your brethren killed. You believe this is the right thing.

Here is something else to think about. Why don’t THEY go out there into some foreign land, wearing countless pounds of warfare regalia and fight amongst themselves to resolve the issues they are spatting about.   Let them spray their  blood on the sands of the beaches and end the wars that way. What then?  Would that fix it or create mass chaos?

What do you think?

Priorities, how did they ever get askew?

I normally do not get into politics but I promised this to be a reader driven blog and I am going to give this a go.  Our country is presumed to be filled with the most patriotic group of homosapiens on the planet. However, what is patriotism when we value fame over selflessness?
I hear that our beloved President flew the flag at half mast for the death of a superstar and not for someone who died in the line of duty defending our rights that we take for granted in this country.  Hmm....that sounds a little off to me. Before I go on with this rant, let me get some things out of the way. I do not want any misconceptions nor am I trying to start political drama on my page.
1.  I am not Obama bashing nor am I against the government or for it.
2.  I am not familiar with this story until just now.
3.  I refuse to argue politics (or money for that matter) with anyone.
Ok. Now that is out of the way, lets continue.  Often times, we become so engrossed with some thing or another (yes, I meant to separate that word) that we fail to realize the important things in our jobs and in our lives.  Obama is trying to do the job to the best that he can with the hand that he was dealt all the while showing that he is just as human or as "cool" as the next guy.  Ok, so he chose to honor someone that let their life run them over.  In her day, Whitney had it made and she allowed all that fame and money turn her into a miserable excuse of a human being.  That is how many people who endure the disease called fame.  They let it get to them and they allow it to railroad their very souls and turn them into a drug addicted monster that ends up with a sad ending to the chapter we call life.  Whitney made some music that spoke to a great many people and affected peoples lives in more ways than the music itself.
In the 8th grade, I had a lovely Mr. Henderson as our main teacher (Mary Crabtree and Carrie Andrews can attest to that) that was SO infatuated with this woman that we were forced to listen to her music and how Goddess like she was (even though I personally believed this man to be prejudice.)  Now, as a middle schooler, I was more interested in "headbanger" music and the thought of listening to one more bar of "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiieyiiiiiiiiiii will always love youuuuuuuuuuIIIIIII" made me puke.  But, nonetheless, she affected my life.  I reflected on that and wondered how old Mr Henderson felt when Whitney did overdose.
But I digress.  So Obama chose to honor her.  Ok. I get that. He IS human, after all.  As a side from that, maybe he was so busy doing presidential things that he forgot the then unknown Chris Kyle and failed to mention the acts of valor he did for this country and that he died honorably in the line of duty.  Regardless of the fact that he did have the most confirmed sniper kills and had an impressive military career, so have countless others who have died while on active duty and on leave as well.  Yes, Obama, you should have acknowledged Chris Kyle or at least chose to honor Whitney Houston in a different way.
Priorities a little skewed?  Professionally, yes.  But our dear President is human.  Humans do make mistakes. However, as president, he does need to put a little more thought into what is more important, our rights the forefathers put a great deal of thought into or someone with the privilege to allow FAME to run them over like a Mack truck.  Hmmmmmm.