Soldier Stuff

[pen_grunt]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080316/wl_nm/france_saintexupery_dc
"German pilot fears he killed writer Saint-Exupery"

You see. This is why I could never fight in any kind of war. I'm forever haunted by the scene in "All's Quiet on the Western Front" where the young man realizes that the people he's so arbitrarily killing are just other young men. Who knows who they are--writers, actors, singers, accountants, doctors...but they have their own lives, not dissimilar to his own. The same motives with the opposite intent.

My world is not black-and-white enough to be convinced to kill anyone like that. What reason could anyone give me--there is nothing tangible enough.

For some reason, this little Yahoo! story (for once, not about sleep deprivation past 3 a.m.) is haunting to me. To live thinking you shot down and killed someone who gave you great stories--that you, personally, enjoyed? It all seems so very, very useless. [ETA: Yes, I do know that there are causes bigger than one man, and things worth fighting for. Certainly WWII is a prime example of such things. I'm speaking of the personal struggle--coming to terms with the one-on-one, man-to-man taking of a life.]

It's late, and I'm prone to musing. I have to remember, that the icon picture (of my Grandfather) was taken at the age of 21. I wouldn't trust most 21-year-olds now days to drive a car responsibly--or do a lot of other things, and yet we give them guns and the power to kill at will or command. And yet, over 60 years ago, they were the Greatest Generation.

And yet.
I think it's too late to complete these thoughts.

Comments

[pointedthings.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I could kill someone on a one-to-one basis just fine. If I actually knew the person and knew they were a bad person (self-defense, etc.). I agree with the generalization though. After having been to places that were still recovering from civil and ethnic warfare on a grand scale, I know I couldn't ever use religion, race, ethnicity, or gender, as a reason for killing someone, especially on anyone else's command.