Saturday, January 24, 2015

American Sniper

Could you imagine being responsible for killing over 160 people and have the ability to walk around freely in society?  I can't even imagine what that does to your psyche.  Do you feel like a warrior, a killer?  Justified because you protected your fellow soldiers?  Or does it make you sad, or proud?  This movie touched me in a way that I've never been touched before, patriotically.  Veterans, I always respected, but honestly there was always a gap with what I thought they experienced, versus what I'm sure they really experienced.  This movie helped close that gap for me.  

I left the movie feeling so empathetic that I had to text one of my Veteran friends and thank him again for his service.  I now feel and believe there is a HUGE gap between what civilians think our soldiers go through, versus what they really experience day in and day out on the battlefield and when they come home.  It made me feel horrible.  How could so many of us walk through our daily lives, freely, so unaware, while these soldiers are fighting for us and experiencing so much confusion and pain.  Our reality of cars, work, and social status seem to really stress us out doesn't it?  We have NO CLUE what it feels like to carry the weight of what these soldiers carry on their shoulders and in their minds every day.  Not only do they have THAT to carry, but also the adjustment back to our materialistic fake society that surrounds and encompasses us all.  

I highly recommend seeing this movie.  I think it did a great job detailing what our soldiers go through, not only on the battlefield, but what they see and feel once they come home.  I've never felt so in touch with what they go through until now, and even with this film I'm sure we're all still far off from really understanding.  

It inspired me.  It made me want to help, to reach out, to do something.  

Now I know there are some of you that think, "well they chose to go over there and fight."  And trust me, I get that, and in no way would I ever make that choice, not right now anyway.  Which makes me feel even more thankful and empathetic for our soldiers.  I don't think that war is the answer, but I also think that no one has the answers to this convoluted world of politics, economics, and terror that we're all going through these days.  

I know there are soldiers too that are fine when they come home.  And those guys are extremely strong.  Shoot I need some advice from them on how to cope with some things in my life and I'm far off from holding the weight of what they carry in their minds.  

Anyway, I wanted to share my experience because it truly touched me and I will forever hold Veterans in an even more higher regard now.  

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