You celebrate while I go back in time
The Fourth of July does not sit well with veterans
Some veterans may enjoy fireworks and celebratory noise-making. None of them are combat veterans. I say this with certainty. As a sub-class of humans, anyone who has been a participant, willing or unwilling, in any modern war, fucking hates it when you party with explosives.
You are having fun making noises that force myself and others of a similar backstory to flashback to various traumas. I have learned to let go of the anger I feel when the explosions start going off. Mostly.
I hope someone who does not understand what we’ve been through reads this essay. They tell you it is honorable to learn the killing arts. That’s a lie. They tell you that you are a hero. That’s a lie. They tell you that your sacrifice will be honored. That’s a lie. You’ll fade away just like people who didn’t sign up to live through hell and come back an empty shell of what they once were.
Trauma is real. Trauma multiplies. Trauma seeps into …
