Pretending At War

Here's how Corporal John Matthew Bishop concludes an essay that is very, very deserving of your attention. The Daniel he mentions is his boot camp friend who felt predestined to die in Iraq, and was in fact killed there.

[R]egardless of what determination America reaches concerning the fate of Iraq, I urge her, so long as she exists, never to enter another war unless she goes to win. Should she ask her sons and daughters to take up arms, may she honor their sacrifices with the unflagging conviction and strength of conscience that are necessary to achieve victory. And if she cannot stomach the stakes involved, if the sacrifices of young men such as Daniel do not bolster her resolve but merely plunge her deeper into moral confusion and hysteria, may she, for her own good and for the good of the world, cease pretending at war altogether.

This is from a 25 year-old Corporal mind you, not a 45 year-old Colonel. Those who ridicule the American soldier, calling him a rube for falling for the trap of patriotism and war, could scarcely write a more powerful and wise essay.