Dear John,
None of us really want to forcibly end the life of another human being personally except at those times we are hurt, frustrated or angry and even in those cases we usually resort to indulging in secret fantasies.
Sometimes, as a nation, we are hurt, frustrated and angry at the thoughts, words and deeds of others most especially when our God-given right to oil, money, gold, power, moral superiority are in any manner threatened, obstructed, attacked or mocked.
That is where you come in, dear John. We have created a hierarchy of authority through which we may conform your personal will to the general will of an aggrieved nation. We have created weapons and doublespeak that will separate you, the enforcer of our anger and frustration, from the full impact of forcibly ending other lives. We will train you to kill, without compunction, using whatever weapons those, who actively support us in acting out our common anger, supply you with to pursue our military objectives.
The military machine will shield you as much as possible from any personal guilt over the killings you have participated in obtaining while you are part of the miliary machine.
Should you lose your life in acting on our commands, we will honour your self-sacrifice, for you are the scapegoat of our collective guilt. If you return from combat, and are discharged, we can no longer shield you from the guilt that you have personally taken on board for us. We will look on you with shame as if beholding our own guilt that has etched deep wounds into your mind, spirit, body and heart. We cannot bear to behold the disfigurement of our own purity.
love from the people you serve
scudding clouds . . .
an eraser redefines
all the edges