Back in the day, 1979 or 80, I forget which, a VA Psychiatrist who was evaluating me for PTSD, felt the need, for some reason, to tell me he was in the military. "There but for fortune," he said, I would be sitting on the other side of this desk.

First they turn us into killers in order to fight their immoral and illegal wars but would rather not know the specifics of what it is that they trained and conditioned us to do. Should we stray from the mythology of nobility and honor, however, and allow them access into our world, and insight into the true nature of war, they are repulsed and outraged and think us crazy and a threat to "normal" people.

I think that to wish someone a happy Memorial Day is to misunderstand its meaning.

It is those few who gain by war who send the many to perish.

Perhaps it's time that the privileged and the wealthy be required by law to serve in the military, time they understand the consequences of their actions, time they share the sacrifices they require of others, time they experience the horror of war firsthand, time for the "Fairness Draft"!

Marching in a parade neither educates nor informs about the realities of war. Rather it celebrates and perpetuates the myth of honor and glory, and "The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." I will march no more.