"I don't feel like a hero."

Peace has never been as popular as war. Few are those who openly question the reasoning for going to war, few are those who do not openly question the need for peace. Some even just give up, calling war merely a fact of life like a Spring rainstorm. But war is very much manmade and thus very much optional.

Memorial Day is a time false patriotism gushes from all quarters. If you wish to call yourself a supporter of your country then you must support what helps your country to survive. War profiteering, summary executions and baseless invasions are the hallmarks of the downfall of a paranoid and corrupt society. That would be us! Blowing sunshine up someone's ass doesn't make you a patriot.

Polling for our Afghan war is at an all time low. Lip service is paid to an exit timetable to keep the gullible and willfully ignorant at bay. We've staked ourselves to the idea that war somehow magically makes us safe and at this point I think most people are terrified at the prospect of peace, that we'd then be doing "nothing" to protect ourselves. Of course, the best way to protect yourself is to not be going around the world fucking people over. Just a thought.

America does not want to admit she has been wrong. Wrong to wage her wars in the Middle East. Wrong in her stated motivations. Wrong in the blood she has put on her hands. A price will be paid for that. For as long as the lie is allowed to continue the more it will consume us: more war, more bills, more denial. It's not enough to say "I don't support the way this war is going." We must say we support peace at all costs.

When is comes to the human costs we find who are supporters and who are users. Some of the most vocal "supporters" are nothing more than predators on the backs of veterans like blood-sucking demons. A soldier's life means nothing to them. Better a dead soldier than to admit their god of war to be wrong. And that is why it is so very painful to their facade to see actual veterans they claim to "support" spit in the face of that false god.

Veterans symbolically discard service medals at anti-NATO rally

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nearly 50 U.S. military veterans at an anti-NATO rally in Chicago threw their service medals into the street on Sunday, an action they said symbolized their rejection of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some of the veterans, many wearing military uniform shirts over black anti-war t-shirts, choked back tears as they explained their actions. Others folded an American flag while a bugle played "Taps," which is typically performed at U.S. military funerals.

"The medals are supposed to be for acts of heroism. I don't feel like a hero. I don't feel like I deserve them," said Zach LaPorte, who served in Iraq in 2005 and 2006.

LaPorte, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer from Milwaukee, said he enlisted in the Army at 19 because he felt there were few other options. At the time, he could not afford to stay in college.

"I witnessed civilian casualties and civilians being arrested in what I consider an illegal occupation of a sovereign nation," LaPorte said.

...

"There's no honor in these wars," said Villatoro, before he threw away his medals. "There's just shame."

Could you ever imagine our President ever saying there's no honor in our wars? Or any politician? Some say the government is not listening to the people when we do not pull out of a poorly polling war but that's not true. No one who stands for truth and peace can be elected in this day and age. We'd shoot him down - both literally and figuratively. Below are some samples of comments to the above article, all of whom who consider themselves patriots I'm sure.

Shout and cheer and call them heroes if you want. Or, if you'd rather, put your selfishness aside and listen to what they have to say instead.