I wrote this awhile ago… the whole post could be altered with news updates but I think I’ll leave my plane induced thoughts as they are:

I stare out the window as we begin our decent into Fort Lauderdale. Turquoise water strokes the beach which is lined with high-rises and backed by lush green vegitation. Subdivisions connected by roads, waterways, and inflated property values are packed in behind the initial wall of buildings. All this contrasted by the murky Everglades we circle over to line up our runway approach. It reminds me of the wealth disparity I’ve seen around the world.

Finally out of the flying tin can, I walk about and stretch my legs, deciding where I should spend much of my three hour layover. Bokampers sports bar and grill was still serving breakfast so I had chicken and waffles with my black coffee. I followed that up with a Moscow Mule because I like it and it’s ironic during these uncertain times. It’s difficult to tell if Putin is pulling some ruse, is dead serious and struggling, or if he really is a foolish mule.

Another plane, another chance to sit in row 27. This time next to an overly affectionate young couple. I try to ignore them but there’s no getting away. I can tell he’s a younger law student, he keeps trying to impress his girlfriend with legal terms and explanations. I wonder if that’s a turn on or she’s just waiting for him to stop? Maybe that’s why she keeps kissing him…

The plane is completely boarded and the door now shut. We’ve pulled away from the gate and are prepping for takeoff. The momentary pause in the air conditioning is immediately felt by all 180 people as they quickly convert oxygen to CO². No one wants to sit in the hot, stagnant breath of their neighbors.

From the back of the plane I watch arm after arm rise to adjust that little rotating orifice the air comes out of. Like a rousing act of solidarity at the UN, arms of every nation and skin tone display their unanimous discomfort. A baby cries inspiring another; they both raise volume and pitch seemingly in competition. Except, one is actually in pain and the other is just joining in. You don’t have to be a mother to know the difference. An attentive father can learn many things.

If something is wrong, you should speak up.

Babies have yet to develop the ability to suck it up and drive on. Babies, like the Sheeple of today are masters in the art of mimicry. They learn so much that way. Both the things we are trying to teach them and the unintended bad habits we are not.

People are taking off hats and sweatshirts, adjusting uncomfortably in their unforgiving seats. The baby speaks what the adults feel, “this sucks.” But things are almost always difficult. How we view it and subsequently handle it is what can possibly demonstrate maturity.

A child does not yet possess the mental development to look outside themselves and see the temporary nature of most situations. They are consumed with their needs and how they feel in the present moment. As the plane taxis, the passengers unsupported heads bob in unison, as if tacitly agreeing to whatever the plane does. Are we as a nation just going along with the uncomfortable erosion of our rights because it’s easier than fighting? What do you believe in strongly enough to fight for? To DIE for?

Common sense has been bypassed so the hyperdrive can be engaged. Isn’t it amazing that so many uneducated, space vagrants know the intricacies of engines, electronics, and interstellar space travel? While we’re at it, let’s marvel at the number of veterans who think fighting a conventional war will solve the current conflict in Ukraine or teach Putin a lesson.

“War does not determine who is right.” It only determines who is left.

It’s time to get spooks on the ground and start lining up exit strategies for these kids; have them turn the tanks over to the Ukrainians in exchange for food and sanctuary in a third-party nation. I agree this is naive and hopeful but…
So, I contacted someone who has been coordinating efforts on the ground in Ukraine and asked them for a sanity check on my rant:

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“So while the premise isn’t completely wrong, considering the conscripts in the Russian army that were deceived, there is a lot more to it than that.  Frontline units with Chechnyans, who are fighting hard.  There are at least two articles mentioning two different Russian soldiers, unknown if conscript or not; one involves an intercepted conversation between a Russian soldier and his wife who gives him permission to rape women, as long as he uses a condom.  Another involves another Russian soldier telling his family that he enjoys torture.  

Then you have the mass graves and dead bodies located in Bucha, many showing signs of torture and or summary execution.  

It makes you take pause on “innocence” of the Russian conscript army.  I’m sure many of them have been mislead, but at the same time there are many others that are happy to do the bidding of their commanding officers.  The question is which ones are which?  What is the story they are really being told, to go into Ukraine and invade it?  By now, any pretense of a “security” action has to be seen through; they’ve destroyed half a country at this point.  Morality is morality…even conscripts that sit by and observe what’s going on, and don’t question to themselves is this right are now guilty by complicity.  Many have stood up and done something about it; reports that a tank/armored vehicle driver ran over his own commander out of frustration; reports of Russian soldiers abandoning their posts and equipment.  

As for the convoy leaving, when you step back from the strictly human view and look at it from a purely tactical point of view, taking the whole convoy out in one fell swoop makes pure sense in a strictly tactical point of view.  

Is it any different than the US using a tank round on a building that they took a sniper round from?  Or dropping a 500 lb bomb on a house that we suspected we took contact from?  

Is it wrong?  Is it right?  I honestly don’t know.”

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I guess I’m just frustrated. I think frustration is why so many Vets speak out, post A-10 MEMEs, and generally wish to be part of the action? I do think it’s more than that. The percentage of Vets that actually took contact and engaged in direct combat over the last 20 years is generally agreed upon as 10%.
Those Vets calling for the death of thousands of combatants, many of them have never seen death face to face.

Killing mass amounts of people is never an effective solution. One could argue that the use of nuclear weapons in WWII saved millions of lives but, that would just be an estimate/assumption and a statement made as we stand on the grave of 130k – 215k civilians.

Now that I’ve typed the above paragraph, it’s time to think about it a little more. Pre-internet era, in a closed society, where the flow of information is dictated by a fanatical government, even the civilian population was radicalized and believed in the cause their leadership promoted.

There’s always MORE to a subject than what we think. It’s never as easy as a Google search. It feels like, because we have the summary of all collected knowledge in human history at our fingertips that, if we read just a bit, we can form an “educated” opinion but it’s never that easy.

Our interpretation of the information available is tainted with our temporal distortion. What happened then will look different now because we were not there, then with the mentality of those present.

We also aren’t present across the world and have to take everything with a grain (or sea) of salt. The “Ghost of Kiev” certainly captivated many but it was all bogus. How many other legends have slipped through as history and we now celebrate today? As I’ve heard before, history is written by the victors. Who knows what actually happened other than those who were there?

I leave you with a question. Why are houses in America flying the Ukrainian and not the American Flag?

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These Veteran stories of struggle, adventure, and post traumatic growth need to be heard!
Join the cause to de-stigmatize mental health issues.
Please SUBSCRIBE, share our website with friends / co-workers, and support us by donation or at the STORE.