La deuxième partie...

The First, Last and Only...

True warrior culture this world has ever known, was THE SPARTANS. Their story has been documented in print and cinema and have become so legendary, we are barely able to separate truth from myth. Right here on this channel I reviewed the facts which showed that we owe our freedom and democratic republic to the efforts of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae.

The historic record of mankind is filled to overfull, with our endeavors on the battlefields of Earth. The reasons given for taking up arms against each other are manifold. But there are two things about warfare that are pertinent to this discussion.

First is that at no time in the history of the Earth has there ever been a war between two countries that both had Capitalism as there economic system, and Democracy as their form of government. Ponder the depth and truth of that fact for a moment! And then consider the fact that no such aforementioned nation has ever suffered a famine either.

Secondly, ever since the Spartans gave way to the Athenian ideals of Greek Democracy, no civilization on Earth has truly been prepared for war. War IS hell! We try to keep it less hell-like by writing "Rules Of Engagement." And holding the leaders responsible for the atrocities that take place outside of those rules. 

In Homer's ILIAD, Odysseus, King of Ithaca states that "War is old men talking. And young men dying." William T. Sherman said "War is hell." At the battle of Fredericksburg, Robert E. Lee said "It is well that war is so terrible - otherwise we would grow too fond of it."

I submit for your concern and comment: How can you place rules on hell? 

No war has ever been won completely by the results on the battlefields. To defeat a Nation you must defeat the will of the Entire population of the nation with which you are at odds. As long as the non-combatants are belligerent, the war will continue. Even if The DRAGON is beheaded, it will grow another and resume hostilities. And in all cases in the historical records, if the one side can resist the encroachment of the enemy long enough, the will of the one side will loose support from the non-combatants. And victory will be lost. This strategy has been used throughout history by the Brittons against the Romans. By the Turks against the Crusaders. By the Americans against the English. By the Viet Namese against the Americans.

To win a war, you must make your enemy's civilian population taste the HELL of WAR!  Sherman called it "TOTAL WAR."

The Romans used it to conquer the Carthaginians. The Macedonians used it to subdue the Medo-Persians. The Spanish used it to enslave the New World. The Mongols used it to defeat China. The Allies used it to dispose of the Nazis. The Japanese used it to control the Western Pacific Rim. And when they tried to use it on 7 December 1941, their failure to follow through proved to be their undoing. The Egyptians and Syrians tried it against Israel in 1973. Al Qaeda tried it in New York on 11 September 2001. And we are still awaiting to see which strategy will prevail.

The DRAGON is still at work. And our CHARMING PRINCES are returning to PRINCESS BRIDES with the same things every nation at war has ever tried to recover from. 

The war wounded has always far exceeded the war dead. But we should be more aware of the TRUE COLLATERAL DAMAGE! The families that are left without a parent. The spouse who is now a widow. And The Family Member who are now CARE-GIVERS. 

They are my HEROES!!!

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But I have been in my own little TWILIGHT ZONE! Although my faith has never been shaken. And I still have never asked my GOD "Why?" I must tell the whole truth. I have felt at times like this is a worst case scenario. To have complete mental faculties, with full memory and perceptions, trapped in a body that can't  walk to the kitchen, or out the door. I have even tried to imagine if the opposite condition would have been easier to handle, for myself or my family.

But I now consider myself fortunate! You see! I have found out right here in the BLOG-O-SPHERE there are families and wounded warriors who are in the other position. Some with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Where they have no visible evidence of wounds. Yet prolonged exposure to the explosions of warfare have caused impairment. Compared to this, the NFL's concern over concussion this makes a box of Lillies look like a booger.

And then there are the PTSD survivors and their care givers. In the past it was called "Battle Fatigue" or "Shell Shock." But that was back in the days when medical science told us "We only use 10% of our brain." But we know better than that now.

The truth of the matter lays in the words of General Sherman "War Is HELL." And since there are no true SPARTANS in the world, there must be a normal reaction in those of us who go to that HELL and come home again. It is normal for decent people who have seen HELL to be affected by it. There is no television show, Silver Sceen Production or Computer Game that comes close to the feelings you get, when you have a shipmate's blood on your clothes. 

SOME THINGS, ONCE SEEN! CAN NEVER BE UNSEEN!

There are people who never drive a car after killing a rodent under their wheels. How much more so for the man covered in the misty spray that was once his friend. I have to stop this line of thought for the sake of those who might be in this condition.

But I still want you to be aware that there are those amongst us who might be walking wounded or their care-giving family members. They have been to HELL! And they are still trying to come back home. Giving them grief for parking in the HANDICAPPED ONLY spaces and you can't see what's so handicapped about him? Or Staring at them in the grocery store. Or trying to pet their work dog, will only delay their arrival home.

Remember this when you ponder deep thought this week. And please include them in your prayers. I'll be with you tomorrow after the Doc.

Love you big bunches,

Kurt