A civilian swears an oath. To support and defend the constitution. Against all enemies. Foreign and domestic. He swears to bear true faith and allegiance to the same. And in the same sentence, he swears to obey the President.
So help him god.
And now he’s a soldier. Well, not yet. But he’s sworn the oath. And is shipped off to Alabama for training.
Nobody in Alabama ever explains to this soldier what he’s to do when the oath conflicts with itself.
I’m going Yossarian
watching it all
play out on TV
like this is normal
I was an unlikely soldier
but as a soldier,
I learned:
Life is brief. Eat when you can.
It’s a big world. Most of it is falling apart.
The rest of it already has.
You can never have too much ammo.
And.
Ammo isn’t as important as you might think.
I mean,
I’ve been drinking for a week.
But
Twenty years ago,
after soldiering for a while,
I drank in Iowa City
And read about
our nation
swinging
its torch
spreading fire.
And asked,
Is it too late to quit?
Because in America
Anybody can pretend
to be a soldier.
They can buy the uniform
They can buy the weapons.
And march on the capitol.
Here’s the thing about being a soldier.
It’s cold and wet, hot and muggy.
You don’t ever sleep.
And it used to mean something.
A man once had a dream.
He spoke on it.
A dream is just that. A dream.
Blown away awake.
And now we wake
History is smoke.
The now is on fire.
I grew up Catholic.
I joined the Army.
I went to college.
Now I work in trucking.
Good Conduct Medal
The Medal is circular. It depicts an eagle holding a sword, resting on a book. The words–Efficiency, Honor, Fidelity–surround the reading Eagle.
Not that you know the meaning of the words Honor, Fidelity, Efficiency, reading, book, eagle, medal, circular, president, elect.
Mr. President-Elect, I have two Good Conduct Medals. You have none.
Here we go…
We deserve so much worse
than what’s coming for us.
Our best inventions invented
to kill each other.
I ordered a bracelet with your name on it.
You were better than me.
I ordered a bracelet with your name on it.
Hoping I would wear it and think of you.
And become a better me.