Reflecting on the end

from Lin McNulty

Upon the occasion of the last U.S. boot on Iraqi sand, I emailed my grandson. I asked for his permission to share his poignant response.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I have mixed feelings on the issue. Glad most of us are out, but I am truly tired of seeing the american (sic) public revere our fighting force when in all reality they defend no liberty, nor truth, nor justice. They are either complicit in a global imperialistic agenda, or they are too cowardly to educate themselves on what they are really doing, or worse, they are like myself and indulge in both practices.

I know education (media, news, school), and socioeconomic factors are at play, and also that a majority of those serving are victims of a larger operating system that relies on their ignorance and subservience to implement nefarious deeds.

It’s not the individuals I harbor contempt for, it’s the guilty knee-jerk reaction of a nation who absentmindedly sent thousands of its own to die for the task of killing millions of others. The honest man in me cringes anytime I’m thanked for my service. There is no place in my children’s future for praise of war or any who wage it.