This morning, I had no intention to sit down with my cup of coffee and blog. However, I stumbled across a blog my friend on Facebook posted from a website entitled, "Bullsh**ist". Now, I'm not advocating the title of this blog since it's a little bit vulgar. That's what I'm supposed to say, isn't it? Any promoting another veteran's blog with the truth sprinkled in can discredit ME if there is profanity in it anywhere, right? God forbid my LinkedIn profile not be seen as substantial or as unprofessional by any means. If you wish to read his words instead, here is the link. I understand. His words are so true.
https://bullshit.ist/the-conversation-about-war-and-our-veterans-we-refuse-to-have-a95c26972aee
Anyways, I read this and my wife now thinks that she has done something to upset me, when in reality all that happened is I have identified with this veteran through his words that he was brave enough to share with the internet. It has revived memories hidden deep inside of me. It has sent me to a dark place...a place only a few can identify with or even understand. Reading about the little girl on the battlefield and realizing that this is a real tactic that is being used in war: it's guile by the enemy. It took me coming home and spending time in the public library to discover stories like this. I read about the Viet-Cong using women as weapons of war, instructed to sleep with our soldiers and sneak out of the hotel undetected, but not before grasping the pull ring of a grenade under the bed. How I often contemplate how many times my shipmates dodged this bullet overseas on our own deployments as they caroused with drink, with foreign women and without a care...But, hey? What you're naive about can't kill ya, right?...
The ostracizing and the feeling left out is so true that it hurts. Often, I do think to myself how expendable veterans are and how my sacrifices and time away from my family are invaluable to the whole of society.
The two songs by Metallica in "Disposable Heroes" and "Confused" mentioned in the blog are so accurate that it sends chills up and down my spine. I remember platoons on my ship that we took overseas to Kuwait that sang the song "One" on more than one occasion, but it never dawned on me that this was their battle hymn that psyched them up for combat. It haunts me to think of the sights they saw as my ship dumped them on the curb (the coast of Khafji), and I just wonder if any of these young boys that I complained about taking up space might very well have been sent to slaughter, if not by my ship's hand then some other...
Sometimes, all we veterans have that stands in front of you is a transformed image of our former self. Sometimes, all we ask is for you the reader to contemplate for just a moment of your day the words from the brother I linked above: "The soul wounds we experience are much greater and require the society as a whole to come alongside us as opposed to pointing us to the VA."
Fast-forward 7 years: I have departed the ranks, manned the rails of my ship for the last time. I have now attained a degree in Education and have three years experience in public education. And not only are there gaps in student achievement, but the gap between patriotism and complacency has widened so wide that it may never be closed. Why? Where do I begin? Oh, I know. Here a just a few:
Nowadays, as a teacher, I am always entertained and get a good laugh out of EddieB YouTube videos, but also RangerUp videos on YouTube have always made me laugh as a veteran or caused my 'Hoo-Rah's to be heard for miles. I am going to link one more blog that should be read by the masses, and I sincerely plead with you to read and attempt to grasp these words:
http://rhinoden.rangerup.com/i-wrote-this/
The part that makes me vomit in my mouth the most is actually the response of the educator: regarding the military as expendable and a coveted degree from a big-name university that leaves a new productive hire in the marketplace with $100,000 + in student loan debt as PRICELESS! (hopefully, some caught the reference to MasterCard)
So, again, these are my thoughts and a glimpse into my reality. Metallica's chorus of "Confusion" says it best:
Confusion
All sanity is now beyond me
Delusion
Crossfire ricochets inside me
Trapped in a memory forever
My life…
The war that never ends
One emotional outlet that has always allowed me to paint a picture of my inner struggles during and after the Navy is playing the Blues on the guitar. There are many occasions that I would grab a Fender Stratocaster, plug into a Blues Deluxe amplifier and play Blues riffs until my fingers bled. Since I became such a fan of Blues Guitar during my service, I highly recommend you check out this website below:
http://dbf23xvdlfl2wp29wghry4nv5b.hop.clickbank.net/
<a href="http://7c66cyy9dim4qv0aqqqiv71pal.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_top">Click Here!</a>
I've been looking for a quality website and/or instructor for Blues Guitar licks, riffs, secrets, etc. and I assure you that if you are wanting to learn the blues, this is your guy!
Hope you stuck with me through all of this rambling. I am sure I will write a Part 2 or some kind of continuation of this in the future. Take it for what it's worth, because if you compound these thoughts with a quarter then you could possibly purchase a small cup of coffee at a local gas station. Cheers!
-Blockhead
https://bullshit.ist/the-conversation-about-war-and-our-veterans-we-refuse-to-have-a95c26972aee
Anyways, I read this and my wife now thinks that she has done something to upset me, when in reality all that happened is I have identified with this veteran through his words that he was brave enough to share with the internet. It has revived memories hidden deep inside of me. It has sent me to a dark place...a place only a few can identify with or even understand. Reading about the little girl on the battlefield and realizing that this is a real tactic that is being used in war: it's guile by the enemy. It took me coming home and spending time in the public library to discover stories like this. I read about the Viet-Cong using women as weapons of war, instructed to sleep with our soldiers and sneak out of the hotel undetected, but not before grasping the pull ring of a grenade under the bed. How I often contemplate how many times my shipmates dodged this bullet overseas on our own deployments as they caroused with drink, with foreign women and without a care...But, hey? What you're naive about can't kill ya, right?...
The ostracizing and the feeling left out is so true that it hurts. Often, I do think to myself how expendable veterans are and how my sacrifices and time away from my family are invaluable to the whole of society.
The two songs by Metallica in "Disposable Heroes" and "Confused" mentioned in the blog are so accurate that it sends chills up and down my spine. I remember platoons on my ship that we took overseas to Kuwait that sang the song "One" on more than one occasion, but it never dawned on me that this was their battle hymn that psyched them up for combat. It haunts me to think of the sights they saw as my ship dumped them on the curb (the coast of Khafji), and I just wonder if any of these young boys that I complained about taking up space might very well have been sent to slaughter, if not by my ship's hand then some other...
Sometimes, all we veterans have that stands in front of you is a transformed image of our former self. Sometimes, all we ask is for you the reader to contemplate for just a moment of your day the words from the brother I linked above: "The soul wounds we experience are much greater and require the society as a whole to come alongside us as opposed to pointing us to the VA."
Fast-forward 7 years: I have departed the ranks, manned the rails of my ship for the last time. I have now attained a degree in Education and have three years experience in public education. And not only are there gaps in student achievement, but the gap between patriotism and complacency has widened so wide that it may never be closed. Why? Where do I begin? Oh, I know. Here a just a few:
- A Pledge of Allegiance that is mundane, almost optional and unable to be memorized or even be quoted properly by students and staff alike
- A "moment of silence" that lasts maybe 15 seconds because it gets in the way of testing
- Eyes diverted by cell phones at Friday night football games while excerpts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are read aloud on the mic, often by those of the Greatest Generation that are being thrown out like the evening trash
- No ability to even sing the Star-Spangled Banner with any sign of comprehension or even a shred of patriotism
...Well, that's a start.
Nowadays, as a teacher, I am always entertained and get a good laugh out of EddieB YouTube videos, but also RangerUp videos on YouTube have always made me laugh as a veteran or caused my 'Hoo-Rah's to be heard for miles. I am going to link one more blog that should be read by the masses, and I sincerely plead with you to read and attempt to grasp these words:
http://rhinoden.rangerup.com/i-wrote-this/
The part that makes me vomit in my mouth the most is actually the response of the educator: regarding the military as expendable and a coveted degree from a big-name university that leaves a new productive hire in the marketplace with $100,000 + in student loan debt as PRICELESS! (hopefully, some caught the reference to MasterCard)
So, again, these are my thoughts and a glimpse into my reality. Metallica's chorus of "Confusion" says it best:
Confusion
All sanity is now beyond me
Delusion
Crossfire ricochets inside me
Trapped in a memory forever
My life…
The war that never ends
One emotional outlet that has always allowed me to paint a picture of my inner struggles during and after the Navy is playing the Blues on the guitar. There are many occasions that I would grab a Fender Stratocaster, plug into a Blues Deluxe amplifier and play Blues riffs until my fingers bled. Since I became such a fan of Blues Guitar during my service, I highly recommend you check out this website below:
http://dbf23xvdlfl2wp29wghry4nv5b.hop.clickbank.net/
<a href="http://7c66cyy9dim4qv0aqqqiv71pal.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_top">Click Here!</a>
I've been looking for a quality website and/or instructor for Blues Guitar licks, riffs, secrets, etc. and I assure you that if you are wanting to learn the blues, this is your guy!
Hope you stuck with me through all of this rambling. I am sure I will write a Part 2 or some kind of continuation of this in the future. Take it for what it's worth, because if you compound these thoughts with a quarter then you could possibly purchase a small cup of coffee at a local gas station. Cheers!
-Blockhead
So......not not known for my tact but here goes...AMEN! I stand in classroom and watch students swill down privilege as though it is a commodity without regard to the cost of their consumption. They feel entitled to freedoms that are bought with wages they dare not earn because then the rampant apathy they wear in the name of personal expression would crumble from beneath their coddled feet. They refuse to acknowledge history because then they would have to admit they were wrong, and God forbid we offend their delicate psyches by offering the truth without gloss or editing. The worst part is that the social disease that infects our youth began at home and is perpetuated by those that allow the cycle to continue for fear of being called insensitive. Freedom and honor and patriotism stand on the brink of oblivion. Only those with the fortitude to defend it can drag it back. And here's a newsflash, it's not just a soldier's job to defend it. I know that no soldier takes up the mantle of his or her post to achieve accolades, but thank you for standing in the gap and keeping the darkness at bay. I cannot express enough gratitude to the guardians past, present, and future who answer the call of soldier. Welcome home and know that this civilian holds you in the highest regard and honors your sacrifice.
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