Conversation with a Soldier
December 7, 2007
A few days ago I had the opportunity to speak to a young Canadian soldier. He was initially unaware of my opposition to the war and spoke frankly about his role in the military and the war.
He was a third generation soldier. He was not simply a stupid grunt in any way ignorant to the circumstance he faced. He was not just a macho, deluded young man who bought into the rhetoric spewed out by the government. I found him to be courageous and realistic but unfortunately at the same time fatalistic.
His fatalism, as he explained it, was largely related to his lack of opportunity to make a decent living for himself in any other way. He simply didn't see another option and was willing to accept the risks regardless of the consequences.
The mindset this fatalism represents has in my opinion been created. He is a victim of the economic circumstances presented by globalization and a culture that promotes and glorifies war.
I asked him directly if he was willing and able to kill to which he honestly replied he didn't know but would find out.
I told him I thought the reasons for the war were misrepresented and he agreed and implied that most of the soldiers he knew also knew that the official reasons were lies. But, he knew his job was to follow orders and would do so. This is a sad circumstance. He is willing do die for a lie he knows is a lie but feels he has no other choice.
For me it was sad to be told that these young men feel they have no other option and are willing to take their chances in a war they know is a lie. I don't know if he's truly representative of the serving members but his understanding of the fraud the war represents was refreshing.