This is is a very powerful post. First, thanks for being willing to risk yourself in support of a cause you believed to be worthy, sorry it didn't turn out to be what you thought it was.
I agree with you, the only way to stop paying this price is to stop feeding the machine. We have to starve it. We cannot continue to foment hatred against other peoples in far away places and expect the violence to die. If you want your fire to go out, you have to stop feeding fuel into it.
On a side note, many complain about the expense of our government, and this is one place that we spend an inordinate amount of resources for what it gains us in "security" a nebulous term that isn't really measurable, since if you are secure, you are dealing in the "what ifs" what if we didn't do this? And if you are not, you can never know if more war would have prevented it.
I think the costs, both human and financial are too high, not to mention the irreperable harm done in other worlds across our globe.
It's a cause I no longer believe in. Unfortunately my anarchist principles came along after signing that final contract...
Thanks for your input!
Sure. I feel pretty strongly about this having several children in the prime age for recruitment. None of mine are inclined toward military service, and I'm glad. Like you, my ideas about it have changed through the years. Good luck with your recovery.
Thanks! And no doubt. I could only imagine having kids that age.
It's not without irony that I joined the Army after having been an addict for six years and homeless for as many months. Luckily, since I've been there before, I had the wherewithal to straighten up this time.