Why do we have soldiers going AWOL from the military? Is it because they feel they don't have any other way out of fighting a war they don't believe in?  But the government doesn't care, they just label them as cowards. People have called me a coward, told me I'm just afraid to die. But I would die for any one of my military brothers and sisters because I know that they're doing what they feel is right. In the words of the immortal Mahatma Gandhi "In this cause, I too am prepared to die. There is no cause in which I am prepared to kill"  It is tragic that these young men and women are sacrificed for the greed of our so called leaders, these merciless corporate mercenaries with their sights set on making money no matter the lives shattered, fathers who have lost sons, mothers never again to hold their daughters, sisters never to see their brothers.
       Some will say these soldiers are breaking a commitment, they should hold true to their word. I signed a contract and took an oath saying I would protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic, now we have domestic terrorists in our capital waging immoral wars in our name and it is my duty as a soldier to refuse that fight. For I have a different battle to win, mine is spiritual and mental warfare on the grounds of morality and truth. And I will not surrender until the bloodshed has finally seen its end.
My view on war is all encompassing, not just limited to Iraq or Afghanistan, but to the entity of war as a whole. A man approached my fiancée while she was wearing an anti-war shirt and began to attack her beliefs, calling her a leftist communist spreading propaganda. After she told him of our friend paralyzed in the hospital because of this war he responded with 'that's just what happens in war'. Exactly! That IS exactly what happens in war, people get killed, paralyzed, blinded, and mentally scarred for life. War is tragedy. Any conflict, regardless of the political, social, or economic interests involved creates death and destruction on both sides. I no longer understand how this world works, in fact I'm starting to think the people leading it are out of their minds. It just doesn't make sense anymore, so instead of trying to contemplate it with my brain, I've chosen to feel it with my heart. Peace is our true nature, for it is what we are when we're born and it is where we will return when we die.
       In these days filled with pain and sorrow, Love truly is our strongest weapon, stronger than an M-16, more powerful than a grenade launcher, and greater than an atom bomb. Love cannot be defeated, destroyed, paralyzed, or killed. Love embraces instead of isolates, heals but does not hurt. Love takes courage and is difficult to call fourth in times of strife, yes it is much easier to become angry and hurt someone. Which is why we're immersed in war, because we're scared and suffering, so we lash out with the same because it may be all we know. We must meet hate with love, to resist anger with compassion, and to destroy ignorance with truth. Follow your heart when you've no where else to turn and it will not lead you astray. It will take all our courage to Love in these times where hate is such a volatile force, but indeed it is the only way to save our planet from destroying itself. "A coward is incapable of exhibiting Love, for it is the prerogative of the brave" -Gandhi

Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.ivaw.org

Blaze
www.blazechicago.com