Then, on the hottest day of the year, 106 degrees in the shade, there was an uneasy quiet which would not last. The calm before the storm. Soon, sounds of explosions surround us! Sounds of machine guns fire through the thick, heavy air. We can see the lights from the explosions in the distance. War is upon us!
Today, I woke up, looked outside my window, and everything seemed normal again. I have not yet gone out to look at the damage, nor have I turned on the TV... I'm sure I'll be bombarded with images over the next few days and I haven't the heart for them now.
We are a nation born, suckled, bred and forged from War. We are the only nation with the words "rockets and bombs" in the national anthem! AFAIK, we are the only nation explicitly granting its citizens the right to carry guns. Not just pistols, mind you, but military-grade weapons.
We are a nation that declares war on itself almost daily: the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the war on inflation... all the while not realizing that the only effect from creating a war on X is to create more X.
We are a nation with a language infiltrated with metaphors of war. Teams no longer win, they massacre. Advocates launch a campaign of awareness. A comedian killed last night, but never mind, we kill millions of germs and feel healthy and clean about it. We eat flesh without giving a second thought to the animals that were killed to provide it.
No doubt, America can be a violent country.
I wonder if the rest of the good 'ol USA knows that we celebrate our birth with the reminders of war, or if it's just a special night of pretty fireworks? Would that change the patriot's attitude toward foreign policy? Toward life?
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