Alive at 21

Normally, I don't do this often, but considering how distracting CNN was this morning, I felt I needed to blog first before I did anything else today.

As you probably heard by now in the news, more and more troops in Iraq are dying. Several of the once that were featured on the news this morning were teenagers, obviously freshly graduated. They featured three, all of whom were younger than me. They all died at the age of 19.

It is times like these that I am glad I'm a coward. The fear of death is a strong one with me. I shall never know the bravery these men had to go to this length.

Still, while I honor their bravery, I cannot help but ask myself one simple word. Why? Why did they have to die so young? Why are we, as an armed country, still over in an equally armed on? Is the war not over?

A lot of people are dying needlessly and not in combat. Death in combat I can handle, but when you start talking about how this teenage Marine got killed in an ambush during peace, then we have a problem. I don't know what our Commander-And-Chief is doing, but he's obviously going to have to answer some questions to a few very upset people and families. I know I'm not the only one that feels like this.

All of a sudden, turning 21 seems special again. At least, given this point of view.