Let Me Guide You

Sometimes she is called the Innocent. Other times she is called the Beautiful Soul or the Pure Heart. She is the Brave Warrior's other half. She is a beloved archetype.

I speak of Penelope, Andromakhe, and Cleopatra. She is strong, capable, but above all, faithful. Can you see her yet?

What if I called her an Army Wife.

Lately her image has been following me around everywhere. On Monday, I watched "We Were Soldiers," which is a great movie, punctuated by sad scenes of weeping women who have just learned that their men will not be returning home.

The next day, after work, I come home, turn on the TV, and there's a black and white about a bunch of Air Force officers and their wives on a base in Japan during the Korean War. Now I realize this film was made in the sixties, but I could hardly believe it when one of the vetran wives intimates to a newcomer:

"There's hardly any quarreling here... Our motto is 'keep 'em happy, because you don't know if they'll be back."'

No. You know what? That's not how it works.

I'm probably going to ruffle some feathers here, especially since it's the fourth of July, but soldiers are not special. I've dated my share of them, and almost married one. They are grunts. Whether they are "good people" is dependent upon their personality and actions, not their service status.

Even so, I can't come up with a single culture that doesn't revere the Warrior, and by proxy, the Innocent. Watch the news sometime. When they want to effect your sentiment about the "military action" in Iraq, they use the Innocent.

When they want you to hate the war, she's a crying widow.

When they want you to love the war, she's a proud matriarch, full of hope.

Ok, maybe none of this makes any sense, but it's a very raw sentiment of mine.

Categories: Life [t], Politics [t], Personal Philosophies [t]

No... it makes sense. Your view is pretty sensible too, when you're not too patriotic...
» randomjunk on 2007-07-05 04:50:37

Sorry, you do not have permission to comment.

If you are a member, try logging in again or accessing this page here.