Not the same America that our fathers knew.

My heart goes out to the Soldiers and families of Fort Hood, for that matter Fort Lewis, Fort Dix or any outpost where the Government tells you you’re supposed to be safe.  I feel the shootings are just an example of what has happened to our morality.  What we now consider entertainment in the movies and the violent video games we allow our children to play.  We actually believed in God back in time and we were taught to respect him and expected to obey his word and his commandments.  We are not the same America of our fathers; we’re not even the same America that I grew up with.  It really gets my goat when I hear liberals talk gun control every time something like this happens.  When I was growing up we played cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians and all with toy guns.  When I was old enough to hold it I was given a gun and taught how to shoot it.  This was the norm back then, in hunting season most of the boys had rifles in their cars and trucks during school so they could head out as soon as the bell rang.  Kids used to bring their guns into the school metal shop to repair them.  Oh did I forget to mention, we didn’t have very many mass shootings back then, in fact I can’t remember even one.  When we got into an argument it was mano on mano with fists even though we probably had a gun in the truck.  The liberals in Hollywood who make their fortune with violence and sex in the movies and who make and design the video games that they market to the kids are the same bunch who want to take away our right to own a gun.  It’s the progressive liberals who are responsible for this generation, I just thank God most Americans have taught their children decency and respect, otherwise we would have complete anarchy and chaos.   

It seems so strange that we have such a rash of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) since Viet Nam.  We had millions men and women under arms in WWII and Korea and most came home and adjusted nicely back to civilian life.  I do honestly not doubt the reality of PTSD in today’s world; I do think however it has something to do with the lifestyle of America today.  Kids are desensitized to blood and death in movies and video games and when they are faced with it in real life and realize they are not invincible, they’re not prepared for the reality of it.  The soldiers of WWII and Korea expected the reality of war; they didn’t go into it feeling invincible.       

We’ll probably never know the real cause of this tragedy at Fort Hood but I feel better psychological training in the beginning of one’s military career might help.  It may seem gory but conditioning soldiers to the reality of war mentally with actual gory combat footage as well as physically training them to withstand the rigors of war might help.  Everyone remembers the first dead body they have seen, usually a distant relative but it doesn’t compare to the sights and sounds of combat and the terror that consumes their soul when they realize someone is trying to kill them.