Heroes

Let me get this straight.  A professional who chooses to join the military, who decides to go to combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq and getting 3-5 times his salary for that, plus career advancement, acknowledgements, medals, etc… who wears an armoured equipment that costs (to the taxpayer, of course) some hundred thousand dollars, who, being part of the US or UK military, has got probably the most sophisticated technology and intelligence available in the world, who walks every single feet with satellite guidance and who–unfortunately–got killed by a local so called “terrorist”, that wears some sort of local desert-proof garment (very picturesque, but not necessarily meant for warfare exercises) and that hides in caves inhabited normally by goats and that shoots some 50 years old weapon– is called a hero? That guy is called a hero??
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I feel terrible when I see a 18 or a 25 years old dying like that (I wonder why are mostly the young soldiers to die), I cannot even remotely imagine the despair of their families, and I understand that for them is important to think that their child was a hero. I do understand that. But I do think also about all of those that didn’t ask to be militarily invaded, bombed, killed, gassed. I think about those people who shielded their families with their lives. And they are civilians. They didn’t choose to go to war. They do not get any salary nor any satellite link or special rifle. They probably live with a goat and few dollars per month. But nobody (the media) even mention them, let alone ever call them heroes!

So, I wonder how mad and irresponsible is to promote a culture of heroism when there is no hero at all here! There is only the immense stupidity of war, its financial reasons, the global political agenda and no other valuable and valid reason for it still to exist. How pathetic is to feed people with the surreal fantasy of  ”the soldier that goes to war to sacrifice himself for his country”? It hasn’t been like that for nearly a century! Even if you stop a kid in the street, he’ll probably tell you that a hero is maybe somebody who jumped in a river to save someone’s else life not some soldier that sacrifice himself for his country. Or, even worse, he’ll tell you about their soldiers–those in the videogames–where the hero is the one who kills more enemies, right? C’mon, wake up people, it’s time to be realistic, not to keep acting stupidly with poppies and flags. In the UK there is even a charity (the poppy one) to look after war veterans! How mad is that!? Right, the government has sent, and keep sending people to die for their agenda. It is, as we know, multi-zillion business but, when they come back, if the come back, the government hasn’t got any more money to look after them (and I have got a personal experience of that) to the point that a charity–therefore funded by common people–provides support to them!

Governments have managed to fool common people around with the “hero” story up to  WWI–that’s it. After that, the trick hasn’t worked any more. Things changes (apart wars, of course) and people cannot be fooled so easily. Look at the Vietnam. We all know what a disaster it was. Even past, present and future politicians and governments and military know it–we all know that. The trick doesn’t work any more but they keep taking us for a ride.

My father was a top military guy, I was in the military, other people in my family where even at the very top of the military. I have lived that game. I know the rules. But at least they–the military–are coherent, strong, well trained and, most importantly, not hypocrites. They know that they go there to kill and to possibly get killed and they are prepared for that. And they know the difference between a hero and a casualty.

My father hated politicians, now I understand why. And he taught me what a hero means, and what really means to die for a cause, for a country, to protect your people. And a country is made of people, not politicians.

In fact, there is no country to die for.  There should be a country to live for, instead. But I can’t see any at the horizon…

(adm)

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