I felt an impossible yearning, to have been there, to have fought evil, at a time before ambiguity, when "They" were bad and "We" were good. The last "righteous war." One that had to be fought as the possibility of the Nazis gaining world domination was quite simply, not an option that could be entertained. But was this a righteous war? Not many would argue that WW1 was, and this war after all was in a way WW1 part 2.

There is a dichotomy that fuels all wars, "them and us". Patriotism is defined by this and it is usually expressed religiously... God is on our side, and it is God's will that we fight and kill the "evildoers".

I realize now that I was yearning to have a sense of meaning that is one of wars most addictive and seductive traits. War is like heroin to many. Its most potent effects are, escape from the mundane consumer life, the rush of feverish emotion at patriotic rallies, the incredible brotherhood of the battlefield which is often more intense and meaningful than marriage, the adulation of those back home, and of course women.

I felt an impossible yearning, to have been there, to have fought evil, at a time before ambiguity, when "They" were bad and "We" were good. The last "righteous war." One that had to be fought as the possibility of the Nazis gaining world domination was quite simply, not an option that could be entertained. But was this a righteous war? Not many would argue that WW1 was, and this war after all was in a way WW1 part 2.

There is a dichotomy that fuels all wars, "them and us". Patriotism is defined by this and it is usually expressed religiously... God is on our side, and it is God's will that we fight and kill the "evildoers".

I realize now that I was yearning to have a sense of meaning that is one of wars most addictive and seductive traits. War is like heroin to many. Its most potent effects are, escape from the mundane consumer life, the rush of feverish emotion at patriotic rallies, the incredible brotherhood of the battlefield which is often more intense and meaningful than marriage, the adulation of those back home, and of course women.