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. 

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