Today Is Memorial Day...

Today is Memorial Day.

~A Caution to all: This Is NOT a “I Love Memorial Day” Post. It is not gonna make you feel all warm and fuzzy, or even nostalgic. It may even make you think (God forbid, something makes you think!), or upset you. I express a few of my own views about this day which do not match most. If you decide to get pissed-off at my views, then that is your choice. Perhaps, maybe… it just might get you to look at our military from a slightly different perspective. Do You seek Peace? Really?

You have been prewarned… Read at your own desire.

Yes, I am aware of what it is supposed to be for. Is it wrong that days like today tend to upset me? The day does not upset me for the reasons most would first guess. I am not upset because of death, sacrifice, past history, or any number of other reasons most get emotional when they think about the significance of this day. Is it wrong that I have thought feelings, views, beliefs, and opinions that do not match most others'? Is it wrong that I have sought information, understanding, and knowledge about what has led to where we are today in life? I do not simply take a "holiday" as it is told to me by society. I do not simply "believe" what the majority does, nor do I say what everyone has been taught to say on days like today.

Yes, we have certain freedoms in America, and one of those freedoms is "freedom of speech". But that is limited to what those around you want you to say, believe, and mimic in their own views. On days like today, it is expected that we all are supposed to say the same things, pretend to feel the same way, and not truly express our freedoms.

I DO have quite strong views about our "freedom", our military, the deaths, the sacrifices, and everything that is significant on this day.

I am not on this Earth to upset people. But I am here to make a difference. So, I ask why is it I am not supposed to be who I am on days like today? I am created different, and everyone who knows me accepts, appreciates, and embraces that uniqueness... except on days like this one. On days like today, I am expected to act just like everyone else. I understand that many people would be greatly upset, and that is not my purpose. But why is it on a day like today, everyone is expected to say the things that are upsetting, and make me want nothing to do with them... yet I cannot say my mind?

America is hardly the land of the free.

For whatever you choose to see in this day... May you find Peace happiness, and maybe, possibly even Freedom....

...I Challenge you to think outside the calendar. I challenge you to find peace. Real Peace, not Peace created from violence, death, battles, and imagined heroes. I challenge you to find a hero in someone not wearing a uniform, carrying a gun, and strong-arming others to comply with their uniformity. I challenge you to find peace, love, and compassion without anybody needing to die in unnecessary battles.

For those who have decided to join, support, or in any other way be connected to the military: That is your choice. Those who have joined, served, fought, died... Those are you choices. We each choose different paths in life. Those who choose to go looking for a fight will find it. Those who go looking for peace will find it. Peace never comes from violence. Death, fear, suffering, and insecurity arise from violence, battles, and militaries.

If someone dies because they went looking for a fight, then they got what they wanted. Why would we feel they sacrificed anything? They Chose to go that path. If anything, they chose the easy way out. They died. They no longer are forced to live in this hell man has created. They no longer are forced to conform to the rules of society, working their tail off just to go and pay the next person for the right to exist on this Earth. Those who went into the military, and died took an exit from this battle the rest of us are forced to endure for as long as we are alive. Our world is not a better place at all from any military actions. America certainly is not peaceful. We certainly do not have “Freedom” And Nothing good has ever come from any military action anywhere on the globe. As long as there are people fighting, there will never be peace. As long as greedy people believe they should be greedy, there will never be peace. No amount of military involvement has ever created peace anywhere.

If America was free, we would not have the rampant violence, gangs, thefts, and greed. If America was free, there would not be rape, child-molesters, physical violence, bullies, kidnappings, or abuse. If America was truly free, there would never be anyone suffering because they were homeless. Those who chose to be without a home could live happily, free, comfortably, instaed of suffering, and treated as if they were scum. If our military was all about peace, they would focus on exactly that, not in wars. If “we” have the greatest military, then why do we not have peace, or freedom here? Since so many people believe seeking a fight is the best solution, I have an offer for them: use that desire to fight and go after those in your own country who also seek a fight. Put all the greedy seekers of violence together, and let them kill each other off. THAT WOULD HELP! If our military wanted peace, they would eradicate the gangs, the thieves, the people who wish to do harm to others. But “our military recruits people who Want to fight, Want to steal, and Want to harm others. The military creates Death, Violence, and Greed. The military actively seeks, encourages, and trains people to harm others. The military fosters the mentality that greed, harm, violence, theft, and insecurity are all good things. And when you teach people in large quantities to behave like that, there will always be death, loss, and suffering. When you foster that kind of behavior, those who do not die, and later rejoin society as a civilian, they will continue to be greedy, seek violence, and fight.

We all will die. Nobody can deny this. How and when we die is uncertain. But if this world wanted True PEACE, there would not be a need for days like today. Why do we pay special tribute to those who have helped create death?? Why do we call these people heroes? Why would anybody believe that because someone went looking for a fight, we should somehow feel sorry for them, thank them, or give them anything special? Those who are supposedly "honored" today already got exactly what they wanted. They went after it, and got it. They got their reward. As long as people on this Earth go looking for a fight, There will be deaths because of their desires.

If you are one who chose a job in the military, that was your choice. You never entered that job without knowing full-well what the outcome would be. Death, Suffering, Violence. When People seek a fight, they will find it.

Now, for those who think I am completely convinced that everyone in any military is a bad person… Nope, not at all. I happen to know many who are the exceptions. I know many who have joined, served, lost lives, suffered, etc who also happen to be the most passionate, caring, loving humans I’ve ever met. But that does not mean they were seeking peace. Nobody joins the military for peace. If they do, they are deluding themselves. I cannot change that people on this Earth will do things they absolutely swear they are against. But I can ask: Why would you join a military, if you truly wanted peace? There obviously are other reasons… and they usually boil down to greed. They wanted free housing, medical, food, clothing, and a way out of the normal society. I've known many who "ran way" to join the military to avoid jail, prison, penalties, fines, etc. I've known many who join because their past is about to catch-up with them, and they do not feel they should be held accountable. I've known many who have done such horrific crimes against others that they join the militray so they cannot be prosecuted. The military is all about the greed, violence, and death. But it does offer to those who wish to run form life a great protected escape from that life, but nothing is free. The price they paid for their escape is often death. Many join believing the military had their best interests in mind, such as providing “free schooling”… Yet nothing is truly free. So while they went in seeking something for themselves, protection from their past, or for any other reason, they Still supported the violence, the death, the fight. If people truly were against that, they would not support it, and certainly would not join. It is a choice. They chose. I, too have made choices in life which did not turn out to be so great. Yup, I've suffered because of those choices. But I gotta accept that I chose. Same as those who chose the military. We each choose. We each must accept the consequenses of our choices.

For those who suffer from the loss of a loved-one who was in the military: Yes, I am sorry for your loss. I have never sought for others to die, nor wish that upon their families and friends. Death is hard on everyone, and often those left behind have a hard time accepting it. I do not for one second discount this, nor expect you to shrug it off. Death is something I actually do understand quite well. It is never easy, and often we never fully grasp the loss. This post is not at all about that. It is about the reason they died, not what happens after they died. We cannot change what they have chosen, and find it difficult to go on with our lives based on their choices. How we proceed after their death is what makes the difference. Why do you think I am so passionate about Peace? Death has hit me hard. I feel it every day. It cripples me, and hangs on in my soul. THAT IS WHAT DRIVES ME TO SEEK PEACE. Because of loss, I sought understanding of what this day really is. What we each do with the death of one we love is what will determine our future. If we get angry, and seek a fight, encourage military action, and violence, there will always be more death and more suffering. If we seek peace with the passion of the pain of lost lives, we will find peace, compassion, caring, love, and a better world.

So, On this Memorial Day: Definitely remember those who died… But ask yourself “Why did they die?” If you really seek the answer, you will see they went looking for a fight… and found it.  Does this mean on Memorial Day we should not recognize this? Nope. We absolutely should! We should look at how we are taught to think, and learn to see what is really happening. We should ask ourselves: “Do We Want Peace?” And strive for exactly that. If I have upset you, then that means you are paying attention. Being upset is actually a good thing! Death causes me to be upset. Upset enough that I turned to find ways of peace instead of more death. Maybe by being upset, you will start to seek peace, teach others to seek peace, and perhaps lead by example? If you take your feeling of being upset, and turn it toward a fight, lashing-out at others there will never be peace. If you are upset, GOOD! Do something about it!