Though I'm an old fart who's seen many things, I've never actually witnessed the violent death of another human being. I've seen its immediate aftermath a few times. It stays with you forever. I remember going with my father for some reason to the south side Bethlehem home of a man who killed his son in a rage. Blood was everywhere, along with cockroaches crawling up and down walls and along the floor as women wailed. It stays with you. It changes you. It is why I believe most combat veterans are so unwilling to discuss their experience. It changes the murderer, too. I've seen it in their eyes, if I look long enough. The warm light of humanity flickers and then is gone. What's left is death.
As I'm sure most of you know, the US military plans to livestream the firing squad execution of a mass murderer who himself was an Army psychiatrist. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended this, saying it is a way to restore American values. I believe it erodes them and debases us, not just as Americans, but as human beings.
Hopefully, President Donald Trump will stop this madness. I'm not holding my breath.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.