I grew up during war times
Just as my parents before me had
Watching the nightly news of bombings of third world countries
all for the sake of saving a people too desparaged to save themselves
Troops on the ground liberating an entire population and freeing them of a totolitarian leader that they, themselves never asked for
Searching for something and having smoke blown up our asses
Questioning every day if it was worth it
The soldiers come home mangled and stressed
So enamoured with killing an enemy that looks friendly that they cant tell who is friendly anymore
So they take to their homes and families still peeking around corners and looking for an enemy that looks friendly only to find the ones that loved them and prayed for safe return
They tied a yellow ribbon
They bought the bumper stickers
They supported the troops
Back home little johnny played a video game
That looked like war and thought that it was easy
He enlisted when he became of age
He stepped away from his virtual reality into a reality that he wasnt prepared for
Little Johnny's gravestone reads of bravery in battle and every 2 weeks his mom puts a new flag and flowers out for her only son
See, I grew up during war times and the war aint over yet
We go to war every day in our lives
We fight at the watercooler over politics we dont understand with enemies that look friendly but given the chance Bob from Accounting will wreck your world
We go home to fight with a spouse that we dont love because the children we do love wont get off of their war time video games and get washed up for dinner
We go to war with our children to learn everything they can and do good on the standardized test so that they can finish three semesters at a community college and drop out just to learn to ask “would you like fries with that?”
I grew up during war times, yall
and the hell never goes away
We, the people, spend every day fighting a war that we'll never win against a bold aristocracy that wishes only to disparage the poor so that they can add a beach home with a yacht to their portfolios
We go to work knowing that the ruling class of the country doesnt give a damn about us but if we're lucky enough one day that very same ruling class will send us help in the form of troops on the ground to save us from our pathetic selves, because we just cant seem to fend for ourselves anymore and that fema tent looks warmer than this cardboard box anyway
I grew up during war times
We spent our time looking at black mirrors and telling strangers about our friends that told their strangers about us and we had some strangers in common that would occasionally tell us both that we were pretty
We argued relentlessly with the strangers in the black mirror about politics and policies that neither of us understood, but the ruling class gave us telelvision-on-demand and 2 minute drive-thru times where Bob from accounting's son asked me if I wanted fries and I said yes, A Large, because damn it, I'm American and that's just how we do it.
I grew up during war times
My friend Mark had a crush on my friend Tom and the football players made them kiss in the locker room, then broke Tom's nose because of a word that I dont feel comfortable saying, but I watched it all happen, and I went home and I cried
I cried as hard as I did the day that we dropped a thousand bombs on a town in the desert in a country that I've never been to, killing thousands of friends that looked like enemies.
Mark moved to California when we graduated and started a life with a sweet man named Tony and I wonder if he saw Tammy today if he would remember the jocks in high school that broke her nose for kissing him, and knowing that the jocks still wouldn't accept a lifestyle and politics that they dont understand but instead go to war at the watercooler with them
as if it in some way affected themselves
I grew up during war times, yall, and I gave endless resources to people that never deserved an ounce of my respect, only to have them tell me that It was never wanted in the first place.
I gave away so much of myself during the war times that I dont think I have anything left for myself but I wish everyone well and I hope yall are doing fine with me and if you ever feel like returning anything the return policy is open ended and I swear its okay if you cant look me in the eye you can leave it next to my politics by the water cooler, and you can keep the fries because I grew up during war times and rations were low and I cant distinguish a friend from an enemy any way so I take it out on things that dont deserve my time and affection
I GREW UP DRUING WAR TIMES.