War

I've had conflicted feelings about war since 2001. I was convinced, by the logic of the argument, that the United States needed to go to war in Afghanistan. I've never approved of the war in Iraq and have always been leery of war in general.

I've also had ongoing conflicts over the idea of being anti-war, but pro-soldier. Politically, it makes sense, but to what extent can we truly celebrate a warrior mentality. I have deep respect for the people who make a conscious choice to join the military. I don't have much respect for people who join out of a naive sense of adventure, power, or a glorification of violence. I don't want to generalize because I have met and know too many people who have had a much deeper and complex attitude towards their choice to enlist.

The following video has raised some serious moral questions and disturbed my sense of having found my personal answer to the questions of war and the judgement of those who enlist. What does it mean that the voices are so calm and collected and clearly out of danger in the battle, but so excited about scoring kills? Do they believe they are saving the world for democracy? Or protecting lives? Or is it simply about getting the "bad guys" - the same thrill one gets from first-person shooters? What does it mean for our culture - our sense of humanity - that war has become a video game? This happened in Iraq, but is not particular to Iraq. I still believe that war is justifiable and even necessary at times. I believe that we have a moral duty to repair nations that we tear apart when we must go to war (Afghanistan). I wonder how we can avoid the practice of warfare that leads to these situations, or if it is even possible. The original video is posted by wikileaks.org.