CHAPTER TWO

Some time I feel that some people in American are like bottle rockets, we take off when something bad happens, and a couple seconds later there is a big shower of sparks, we join hands and stand up against an outrage, then the sparks fade and there is nothing but darkness, and quiet. Until something happens again, like the Fort Hood shooting and then we light another rocket, but this one didn’t last long.  We need to be a continual shower of sparks, not just a quick flash.

Then people start yelling about the war, where the WMDs are (weapons of mass destruction) or it’s all about the oil, President Bush was the terrorist.  Well I’m going to give you my view, the view of a person who has walked, talked, lived, and ate in combat and with the Iraqi people:

There was a poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja March 16, 1988, killing over 5,000 men, women and children.  I may not be a well educated man but sounds like a WMD to me. The jet that hit us was turned into a WMD. And the oil, if it was all about the oil we should be swimming in it.  As I said this is my personal option.
And that’s the greatest thing about living in this great country; you have the right to speak out and not worry that someone will put a bullet in your head. Our Constitution gave us that right of “Freedom of Speech” which seems to be misinterpreted every corner you turn. I don’t think our founding fathers had flag burning by our own citizens in mind.

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press,
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What do you think happens to the people in Iraq or similar country’s that would speak out?  I’ll tell you, bullet in the head, maybe the whole family would be killed or thrown in prison? I know this has happened because I spoke with Iraqi people and was told by them in their own words these horror stories. We should, no you need to be happy we have the freedoms in this great country that we do, but I am worried there are some people who want to rid us of what our founding fathers did for us, and created.  But that’s not what this tail is about. This is about the War and what I as a solder deals with on a daily bases when I step off that military aircraft, and into normal life. But normal can be very hard, and I know I’m not the only one.