I am an American
soldier. I did not join to fight wars. I did not join to be perceived as noble by anyone but myself.
Until I joined, I had never fired a gun. Until I joined, I never trained in
hand-to-hand combat. I never wanted to
kill a person.
Now I fire a weapon periodically. I am trained in combat. I still do not want to kill a person. Someday, I might be required to - not out of
personal necessity, but from an order from some
old guy in Washington. And that
scares the shit out of me.
But I'm in the
United States Army. And when that day comes, for better or worse I'll serve this
country. I'll do whatever it takes. Does that not make me courageous, even noble?
"Countries aren't people. They don't deserve loyalty or sacrifices."
America is not a piece of land. America is you. You, me, and every other American, all of whom have the freedom to denounce it as easily as you have chosen to do. The army, soldiers, me - we protect you. We fight for you. I have to kill someone I don't know for you. I live with that - for you. Whether you appreciate it, whether you realize you need it, whether you think you'd rather not need us, we are YOUR army.
Tell me you don't need me. Tell me I'm a stupid gun-touting fool. But don't say I'm not noble.