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For All Mankind: Remembering the Original Truth
novaw0lf
Veteran
I wrote an article that told a story about one of the times that I spent as a veteran in the Middle East. I turned it in as a college paper and got an A-. It's also on my website, but since my video that I posted right before this got so much positive feedback, I figured I'd try posting this here as well, to see what you guys think.
Remembering the Original Truth
I had known full well the taste of failure; I was no Navy SEAL, but an underdog soldier: a sand-sailor with a mediocre performance record at best, who knew more about how to jump from a burning building than he did about any technical part of a ship. This particular building was a hotel in Bahrain, one of countless around, and I stood on its flat roof with my harness hooked and smoke in my lungs. Though, despite the doubt that marred my confidence, I remained an idealist; my life may not have turned out to be the war-hero's dream that I originally wanted, but I still believed in some part of humanity worth fighting for—the parts of humanity that rarely make it to TV. There could have been someone inside; if there was, I wanted to save them. But the team and I were ordered to stand down; my superiors didn't believe in taking the risk of trading an American life for a native's. That day, I disobeyed a direct order, and rebelled by jumping from the rooftop, anyway. I'm glad that I rebelled because I stood by what I believed was right despite fear of legal consequences, demonstrated that not every American is selfish, bigoted, and blindly patriotic...and learned the difference between looking like a hero, and actually being one.
"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son. But remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power: your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say 'but I was told by others to do thus' or that 'virtue was not convenient at the time'. This will not suffice." -King Baldwin IV (Kingdom Of Heaven, 2005)
It takes courage to live purely by conscience; we live in a world where we've become controlled by our fears of those with political power over us, the ones who control our paychecks, careers, and judicial freedom. We become distracted by materialism, patriotism, ego, and self-destructive thoughts, desires and habits...all the while forgetting the original truth—that all men are cut from the same cloth, bleed the same color, breathe the same air, and hold no more cosmic value than another...regardless of rank, ethnicity, position, or the size of one's bank account. To live consciously is to stay true to what you believe is right, noble, selfless, and moral...even if doing so means to go against all of what society has programmed us to do, to act like, and brands us with the false tag of criminality. As our final breaths escape our body in the twilight moments of our life, when we look back upon our lives and replay everything we've ever done in an instant before our mind's eye, can we answer the question to ourselves: was any punishment we would have gone through worth selling our souls to those who aim to dictate what we say and do for the greater good of their own selfish needs? There is no punishment in the world that can diminish the truest part of who we are, unless we allow them...and even then, they would have needed our permission, first. So long as we are brave enough to accept the consequences of our actions, no one can take your freedom of choice away from you.
There are two sides to every coin, every story, every war. What the military fears most is the disapproval of the public eye, and therefore would do everything in its power to curve what the camera depicts for the unenlightened masses at home. The false projections of the military depict that the American government is righteous to all. But off-camera, such nobility is casted to the wind—discarded like a cheap dollar-store halloween mask. To ensure that this image is upheld, it'll remind us of subtle threats of legalities within the wording of its enlistment contracts, playing upon the fears spawned by the very materialism, bigotry, and selfishness that we allow to control ourselves. But the military cannot control he who remembers the original truth, he who dares to suggest that regardless of whatever flag he may have been born under, he is still a part of the same decaying organic matter as everything else; he is no better than any other person from any other country, for we all share this world, together.
“All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.” -François Fénelon
When I busted through the window to find that no one was inside of the building, I knew that I had risked my life, and my naval career on a whim, but my conscience was clear. Explaining my justifications for rebellion to my chain-of-command wouldn't save me the punishment that was to come; to them, I had showed complete immaturity, lack of respect for authority, and downright stupidity...but I knew that I could die a happy man; I knew that there was no punishment they could administer that I couldn't overcome in the end. Later, I would find that in contrast to the military's disapproval, I had consequentially gained the respect of every native who'd heard the story; I was remembered by name and face, and enjoyed many free courtesy meals as gifts, cooked exactly to my liking...without me even having to ask. I accepted the gifts out of respect for the people, but I never felt that their courtesies were necessary. My payment was in knowing that I broke the stereotype of the arrogant American, the American who forces his way into the borders of others' countries and pays no attention to the respect of the indigenous culture. An American who worries about lives other than his own. From the opposing opinions of my superiors versus the natives, I learned that there is no such thing as a hero, only an idiot who does something stupid at the right time; honor, like all concepts, are a matter of perspective.
John F. Kennedy once said, “...ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This way of thinking promotes war through patriotism, and indirectly leads to a contradiction of the original truth that all men, regardless of their country, have equal right to live, to be heard, and helped during times of need. Ascending from notions of patriotism to adopting the awareness of cosmic equality is the way to world peace, not the arrogant pride of a single country. It is not what you can do for your country, but what you can do for all mankind.
Remembering the Original Truth
I had known full well the taste of failure; I was no Navy SEAL, but an underdog soldier: a sand-sailor with a mediocre performance record at best, who knew more about how to jump from a burning building than he did about any technical part of a ship. This particular building was a hotel in Bahrain, one of countless around, and I stood on its flat roof with my harness hooked and smoke in my lungs. Though, despite the doubt that marred my confidence, I remained an idealist; my life may not have turned out to be the war-hero's dream that I originally wanted, but I still believed in some part of humanity worth fighting for—the parts of humanity that rarely make it to TV. There could have been someone inside; if there was, I wanted to save them. But the team and I were ordered to stand down; my superiors didn't believe in taking the risk of trading an American life for a native's. That day, I disobeyed a direct order, and rebelled by jumping from the rooftop, anyway. I'm glad that I rebelled because I stood by what I believed was right despite fear of legal consequences, demonstrated that not every American is selfish, bigoted, and blindly patriotic...and learned the difference between looking like a hero, and actually being one.
"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son. But remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power: your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say 'but I was told by others to do thus' or that 'virtue was not convenient at the time'. This will not suffice." -King Baldwin IV (Kingdom Of Heaven, 2005)
It takes courage to live purely by conscience; we live in a world where we've become controlled by our fears of those with political power over us, the ones who control our paychecks, careers, and judicial freedom. We become distracted by materialism, patriotism, ego, and self-destructive thoughts, desires and habits...all the while forgetting the original truth—that all men are cut from the same cloth, bleed the same color, breathe the same air, and hold no more cosmic value than another...regardless of rank, ethnicity, position, or the size of one's bank account. To live consciously is to stay true to what you believe is right, noble, selfless, and moral...even if doing so means to go against all of what society has programmed us to do, to act like, and brands us with the false tag of criminality. As our final breaths escape our body in the twilight moments of our life, when we look back upon our lives and replay everything we've ever done in an instant before our mind's eye, can we answer the question to ourselves: was any punishment we would have gone through worth selling our souls to those who aim to dictate what we say and do for the greater good of their own selfish needs? There is no punishment in the world that can diminish the truest part of who we are, unless we allow them...and even then, they would have needed our permission, first. So long as we are brave enough to accept the consequences of our actions, no one can take your freedom of choice away from you.
There are two sides to every coin, every story, every war. What the military fears most is the disapproval of the public eye, and therefore would do everything in its power to curve what the camera depicts for the unenlightened masses at home. The false projections of the military depict that the American government is righteous to all. But off-camera, such nobility is casted to the wind—discarded like a cheap dollar-store halloween mask. To ensure that this image is upheld, it'll remind us of subtle threats of legalities within the wording of its enlistment contracts, playing upon the fears spawned by the very materialism, bigotry, and selfishness that we allow to control ourselves. But the military cannot control he who remembers the original truth, he who dares to suggest that regardless of whatever flag he may have been born under, he is still a part of the same decaying organic matter as everything else; he is no better than any other person from any other country, for we all share this world, together.
“All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.” -François Fénelon
When I busted through the window to find that no one was inside of the building, I knew that I had risked my life, and my naval career on a whim, but my conscience was clear. Explaining my justifications for rebellion to my chain-of-command wouldn't save me the punishment that was to come; to them, I had showed complete immaturity, lack of respect for authority, and downright stupidity...but I knew that I could die a happy man; I knew that there was no punishment they could administer that I couldn't overcome in the end. Later, I would find that in contrast to the military's disapproval, I had consequentially gained the respect of every native who'd heard the story; I was remembered by name and face, and enjoyed many free courtesy meals as gifts, cooked exactly to my liking...without me even having to ask. I accepted the gifts out of respect for the people, but I never felt that their courtesies were necessary. My payment was in knowing that I broke the stereotype of the arrogant American, the American who forces his way into the borders of others' countries and pays no attention to the respect of the indigenous culture. An American who worries about lives other than his own. From the opposing opinions of my superiors versus the natives, I learned that there is no such thing as a hero, only an idiot who does something stupid at the right time; honor, like all concepts, are a matter of perspective.
John F. Kennedy once said, “...ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This way of thinking promotes war through patriotism, and indirectly leads to a contradiction of the original truth that all men, regardless of their country, have equal right to live, to be heard, and helped during times of need. Ascending from notions of patriotism to adopting the awareness of cosmic equality is the way to world peace, not the arrogant pride of a single country. It is not what you can do for your country, but what you can do for all mankind.
0
Comments
tell it like it is.
You survived...
to tell the story,
and in so doing,
you give this world the greatest gift of all:
the opportunity to learn
compassion.
It is why survivors survive at all, you know,
and often against impossible odds.
They survive in order to give this world the opportunity
to hear a whisper of truth
beyond the blaring marching merchandizing
endless sales pitch
of empire.
Would many of your military brethren not like you telling the story?
Many of your military brethren end up
alone and stoned and drinking in the corner
exactly for their lack of ever being able to tell the story...
to anyone...
themselves included.
The wolf spirit has always symbolized the teacher of family and community,
for those who would listen,
in a world where empire is valued over family
and people all to easily become sheep
herded by their butchers.
Tell it like it is, brother,
tell it like it is.
metta
Aura
You could however just as easily have broken in the window and set off a booby trap that took out yourself and everyone else around you.
In my mind it is one thing to stand up for what you believe and taking direct action as you suggest may be the only way forward - on the other hand, one should choose the moments when this happens and should weigh up all the issues at stake - acting impulsively like this may be an indication that one is acting from ego rather than alturism and can lead to unexpected and unnecessary suffering.
I dont want to take anything away from you - you are thoughtful and courageous - the purpose of my post is to highlight an alternative and perhaps less appealing interpretation for pondernig's sake as the concepts that apply can also be extraoplated to other issues...
Thank you. But oh trust me...I got my ass chewed-off and handed to me by my superiors after. You're not telling me anything that I wasn't already graciously debriefed about after.
My husband was an EMT for years.
So I love this story and I want people to read it. I could care less what it does to your ego because what matter is that people read andlet it resonate with their spirit.
Healing balm for the soul. Good job op...keep writting.
This is sort of in response to your general issue on confidence / ego - its ultimately something for you to deal with and only you will have the key to that - you know that though and youre also aware of the issue - perhaps a way to first counteract your ego or the effects of what you perceive may be your ego is to consider setting yourself some parameters - this can be an interim measure to secure a sound foundation - you can dismantle it later.
In your example above, you were enlisted within a certain set of life parameters - you were in the army on a mission, ordered to do a specific thing - you were however in conflict with yourself resulting in a unilateral action outside of the parameters of the life situation.
Maybe as a counter to your ego, you could set yourself some boundaries and then stick to them - that way your ego will be preoccupied with maintaining an internal standard (rigid discipline) and not an external one (showing off to others / trying to be the leader / trying to please) - this may give you space to recognise yourself and fully appreciate cause / effect and illusion - coming back from this phase, you can then deconstruct the boundaries or move them and maintain your mental position free of attachment and obstruction.
So you may start with, 'I will stick to the rules that I subject myself to' - in the army that maybe doing what you are ordered to do - if you dont like it then follow the proper procedure for discharge but throughout your service do only as a soldier would do - appreciate patience and pace and context for example - then take what you have learnt and set yourself something else and let you lead you.