Monday. war

so it's a pretty topical issue at the moment, with troops from all over the world being deployed to third world nations. there are so many reasons or excuses that try to explain why we do this. nations that can't take care of themselves, and nations that are corrupt and full to the brim with genocide, violence, serious justice issues. poverty-stricken communities that don't have a functional political or policing system. although i feel for these nations and their peoples, sometimes i think the war against terror and continual deployment of troops to these nations comes at a loss. what proof do we have that we are actually making a difference over there? as more bodies are shipped home, where is our evidence of success? i dont see the justice in losing lives to save lives; just to show we care. sometimes it doesn't seem worth it. maybe they should set up a reality show so we can see what they're actually doing, instead of all the secrecy and guesswork. maybe im just a child with a child's perspective.

at the recent awards night at my school, a student who attended a few years ago came to present an airforce/etc endorsed award. under the tight chin strap and khaki uniform i hardly recognised him. it took me a good ten or so minutes to realise i remembered seeing this boy frequently around the school. the host for the evening mentioned his acheivements, adding that he was recently sent to afghanistan. my heart sunk at that point. he seemed like a different person to the slouched school boy i remembered. he was definately... disciplined. it amazed me just how different he seemed after what must've been a life-changing experience. i think i overheard him saying afterward that one of his friends had died during the deployment. sad.

xR