Rite of Passage for a Toy Soldier

"Militarization of American life has always bothered me but perhaps even more so after experiencing combat myself. I played with army men and fired my share of paintball guns growing up, however the reality is that the blood and death are not computer graphics and the bodies of the dead and dying don’t disappear or walk of the playground.

The romanticizing of armed conflict has made combat the modern age rite of passage. Boys think they don’t become men until experiencing the trauma of warfare. It instills in our youth false pseudo-patriotism than encourages our society to promote armed aggression."
Fight to Survive