The War Comes to the Store

I hate the war. The idea that my country is killing people who've done us no harm thousands of miles from our own shores absolutely disgusts me. We have no right to be in Iraq. We have no right to invade other countries.

Up till now, however, the war in Iraq is an idea that I've hated. It hasn't touched home. Except for the protests and how I felt after watching Fahrenheit 9/11, the war hasn't effected me personally. I don't know anyone over there. I don't think I even know anyone who knows anyone whose been over there. There's no rationing, or draft or any of the other trappings of war. Being a working class environment, the military recruiters come by the store from time to time, and a few months back, they convinced a guy named Robert to enlist. Robert worked in my store as the receiving/package-pick-up supervisor. He seemed like a mature, level headed guy, at least more mature than the average non-college-educated guy in his early twenties. He's been in the army for a month now, and he's totally changed. He came back to the store in full uniform today. I listened with disgust as he talked about how great the army is. He talked about how he'll sleep in his gear out in field, so "if any terrorists try attacking us, we'll be ready to roll out of bed and start blowing them away." (He said this!) More scary was how he talked about how much he loved his M-16. I mean he really meant it when he talked about how much he loved this piece of killing machinery.

More than ever, I'm convinced that the military seriously brainwashed the youth that enter into it. Its not job training anymore. Its about turning these poor kids into neo-con killing devices. This war won't be over anytime soon, and although Robert isn't actually a friend or anything, I feel like another Amercan young man has already been killed.