Apocalypse Always

There's now some debate over the closing of fast-food joints in American bases in Afghanistan and the end of the showing of just-released movies there also. Some people see it as justified, given the economic situation, while others are appalled at the «worsening» of the conditions which the soldiers have to endure.

I've always thought that war is no picnic, and there should be no perks associated with it. This is why I felt that all those Bob Hope shows "for the boys" were wrong: there shouldn't be any entertainment for people who are there to, basically, kill other human beings, especially in wars of aggression such as Korea, Vietnam and the current ones. Soldiers should not be distracted; instead they should think long and hard about the legitimacy of what they are doing. By attempting to provide them with "all the comforts of home", the horrible thing they are engaged in is made tolerable. In cases such as these, the military does not deserve people's support.

It's only when soldiers realize the true nature of what they are involved in and refuse to go along with it that there will be peace. Eating junk food and watching the latest Hollywood crap is part of the illusion that everything's right with the world, while you keep killing the "enemy" in its own homeland.

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