:: The Blurst of Times ::

:: 9.03.2004 ::

... And Another Thing

When I wrote all that the other day, I wasn’t thinking of this, but as I reread it, I think it is very apropos. What I wrote, I wrote as a bit of a defense for Kerry. Not that I think he’s perfect, not that I’d trust him any further than I could throw him - he’s in Washington and we’ve already established that Washington is corrupt. But, the idea was that I would clarify my personal stance on what I think of the debate regarding Kerry’s service record.

But the more I thought about it, that goes for the people currently standing on trial for abusing prisoners in Iraq, too. Again, these people are 18, maybe 20 years old. The Army, based on known fact, does not get the brightest people in the world. As a matter of fact, someone once told me the only thing he knew that was dumber than an enlisted private was a dog who once got himself stuck in tar and had to be shot. Dumb. And scared. To all these folks credit, and no offense intended, we don’t send rocket scientists to the front lines. But we send human beings. Humans who are scared and make mistakes, but most importantly, don’t think enough about the larger picture to not take orders from their superiors. In the army, one is so ingrained to do nothing except what they are told, why, in this single instance, when the worst parts of war show their face, are we to believe that they would suddenly become autonomous individuals and start acting on their own will.

Something smells fishy. Am I being to obtuse if I just flat out say ‘scapegoat’?

“I was only nineteen, not the age of reason...”

:: Freddy F. at 1:31 AM [+] ::