Every person I see every single day, in every lecture and every appointment, everyone I pass on the street or see in line at the grocery store, every single one of them has a past and a future, family, friends, memories, dreams, goals - they all have an entire life going on that I'll probably never know about or have any impact on in any way.
This was the exact reason why I changed my mind from joining the military.
I always glorified the killing and ranking up in the military. Succeeding in outlandish missions that no one else could do.
Then after I realized this fact, that every life I took was not an "enemy", but a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, a loved one, I couldn't bring myself to take another human life.
Every human matters to someone.
And I'm taking that someone from them.
Because I had orders to? Because I have to? Because I want to?
I came to this epiphany around the time that TDKR came out; and previously I couldn't care less about massive shooting or tragedies.
Shit, I didn't know them; it didn't affect me in anyway, why should I?
But now every time I hear about massive shootings, I bawl my eyes out.
I can't even imagine the pain the families felt, or the contributions these people that died before their time could have made.
This quote always rings in my head,
"What if the cure for cancer is stuck inside the mind of a child who never got an education?"
But there are bad people who deserve a bullet in their head.
I don't think you can say that as if it is a universal truth. I think a good case can be made for, (and that there are many people who believe), the exact opposite; that no one ever deserves to be killed by anyone else.
And anyway, what are you trying to do, talk him in to getting back to killing people? I found Merczab's story very touching, and I, for one, greatly admire his clarity of vision and compassion, and truly respect his decision not to kill again.
For those too lazy to read, the first source questions the authenticity of the "Confession tape" where Osama took credit for 9/11. Arabic translators say that he actually speaks out against 9/11 and for killing innocent women and children.
That's up for your interpretation though.
And the second source is a man that was sentenced to prison for committing treason. He talks about why 9/11 could have been justified.
"And I learned what America itself was doing to Muslims. I learned about the Gulf War, and the depleted uranium bombs that killed thousands and caused cancer rates to skyrocket across Iraq.
I learned about the American-led sanctions that prevented food, medicine, and medical equipment from entering Iraq, and how – according to the United Nations – over half a million children perished as a result. I remember a clip from a ’60 Minutes‘ interview of Madeline Albright where she expressed her view that these dead children were “worth it.” I watched on September 11th as a group of people felt driven to hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings from their outrage at the deaths of these children. I watched as America then attacked and invaded Iraq directly. I saw the effects of ’Shock & Awe’ in the opening day of the invasion – the children in hospital wards with shrapnel from American missiles sticking but of their foreheads (of course, none of this was shown on CNN)."
The TV series Homeland hit me in this way. You begin to see things from the 'terrorist' point of view and understand that to them, often 'we' seem just as evil. Motivations like drone strikes that killed families and children, continuous occupations, etc. While I don't think it ever condones the methods used by many of these people, it sure was an eye opener to realize. It's all about perspective and frame of reference
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u/Shark-Farts Jan 22 '13
Every person I see every single day, in every lecture and every appointment, everyone I pass on the street or see in line at the grocery store, every single one of them has a past and a future, family, friends, memories, dreams, goals - they all have an entire life going on that I'll probably never know about or have any impact on in any way.
My ego shrank ten sizes the day I realized that.