Behind the Blast's Shadow: January 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Guns and Smiles

There is not a soldier in all of us. A soldier is a product of patriotism, painful training, and a powerful professionalism that’s unmatched by any other organization on the planet. No one’s running around the battlefield in the real world with smiles on their faces. The overarching theme of this commercial, the marketing intent, is indeed, that war is fun. I don’t know how anybody could say otherwise about this commercial.

War is not fun, people. And I’m amazed I need to type that. To my point at the beginning of this blog, I’m not saying I’m against violent video games or violence in the media, or that I’m against violence at all. (Sometimes violence can be used for positive means, like liberating the world from Nazism or overthrowing a tyrannical dictator.) But I can’t believe the insensitivity of the themes that were produced in the television marketing of this videogame, especially considering that our young men and women are fighting (and dying) in similar combat today.

Ultimately, this game is meant to create a realistic war experience that people can play. Everyone’s interested in war. There’s no greater possible conflict that can exist in a person’s life, so there’s a natural curiosity I think. But the thing most people can’t realize about these games is what a farce this product (and other games like it) actually create within the mindset of the average American. They’re less-informed and more apathetic because of what they think they know from these war simulations. I believe these videogames color their perceptions of war because many Americans don’t even read one book in a year, the news doesn’t actually cover the combat, and most people don’t have someone in their life who’s serving in the Armed Services.

The users of these games ask the troops they do come across the most insensitive “did you kill anyone?” because war to them is just a freaking collection of hand and eye movements between a controller and a plasma TV.

There are an estimated half a million veterans of the current wars who’ve returned home with mental illness as a result of their true experiences. But I guess a game about a warrior coming home and banging their heads against a wall in some apathetic VA hospital isn’t entertaining enough. No one would want to play the how much can you drink tonight without killing yourself video game simulator. No would want to race through the can you navigate the mental maze of violent flashbacks about your friends dying game.

Ask a veteran about war and look for a smile on their face. You won't find one.

Play your games. Just remember that is all they are. If you’ve never been, you have no idea what war is. I really don’t think I’m being too sensitive here. I think I’m being real.

Connect with Dario online:

Personal Website (Free Writing, Podcast, Dario in the Media, Biography, Books, Blogs)

20 Something Magazine (Editor-in-Chief, Creator)

JMWW Literary Journal (Senior Nonfiction Editor)

The Veterans Writing Project (Instructor, Nonfiction Editor)

LinkedIn (Professional Stuff)

Facebook (Be my friend?)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Football and Life After War

On a ridiculous 3rd and 19 last Saturday, the Steelers converted with a deep bomb pass, and I knew then that they would score and my team would be eliminated from the playoffs. No Lombardi trophy this year. The Ravens came close, but failed, again.

At the party I was having at my apartment, we all just sat, shocked and angry – anger that could be seen as an unending stun. We just stared ahead. Some got up and left after dozens of minutes. Others put their head in their hands and closed their eyes. One friend just went into the room and closed the door for the rest of the night, not to come out until the next afternoon.

Why am I talking about football in a war blog? Because I was reminded of an important lesson that day: emotional wellbeing really is a supreme challenge, and hard to maintain. I couldn’t believe I had let something so beyond my control – the outcome of the game – throw me into such a tailspin of short-lived depression. I’m still on Ravens website almost hourly, writing angry comments about my team’s failures. I’m still furious and sad for my team and the aging veterans – people I’ll never know or meet – who still haven’t gotten their Super Bowl rings. I only became a big fan in recent years after quitting the restaurant industry and getting my Sundays back. I wished immensely I could go back to those times and that I could go back to not caring.

And here is the point to this blog; here is the connection I discovered between being a fan and being a veteran. As ultimately trivial and unimportant as a football game is, we choose to get passionate about it, and we put our hearts and minds on the turf. But the passions and blood and sweat we poured out in the battlefield sands of distant lands are so much harder to let go when we’re losing. Everyone loves to be connected to something bigger than themselves. Everyone wants to be a part of an epic struggle and come out on top. When we’re falling behind, we’re especially frustrated and upset because we always think our team – our passion and desire – is the strongest and the best. And that only speeds up the tailspin.

There are bumps along the way. And it’s always a struggle. The conflicts will come and sometimes we’ll let up the big play. Sometimes we’ll fumble and not recover. But when we get the chance, we pick that rock up again and run through everyone until we score.

There’s a lot in life, football, and war that is beyond our control. But we can always choose to work towards being happy.