By Erin Lowe
<[email protected]>

“I thought dying for your country was the worst thing that could happen to you. I think killing for your country can be a lot worse. Because that’s the memory that haunts.”
-Bob Kerry
(told to the New York Times)

Just recently, one of my friends found out that her boyfriend was leaving for the military and could be sent to Iraq. Even one of my sister’s friends has to say goodbye to her boyfriend who is being sent to Afghanistan. Before I heard about these situations, the war was just something happening on another continent. It feels more real now that I learned about these situations.

I’m honestly not really sure what to say when someone tells me they have just signed up for the military or something along those lines. I guess I felt detached from the war and the people fighting in it since it did not personally affect anyone I knew. That has changed now. I actually know the people who are leaving. When I heard about people leaving for war-torn areas before this I didn’t know them so it didn’t bother me, but knowing someone can change the situation.

I personally don’t know anyone who is fighting in the war at the moment, but I know so many people who have been affected by it. I can even think of some family stories that include my family members being involved with past wars. My great-grandfather, who died a couple of years ago, helped work on the atomic bomb during World War II. He never explained what he did to anyone; he was ashamed at what the atomic bomb caused. This could just as well be the case today for someone helping with the war. Do those people feel ashamed when they take part in something like that?

Sometimes we forget that the people fighting are actually people. We forget that they are living, breathing beings until the situation begins to personally affect us. But we shouldn’t forget that. Ever. Erin Lowe is a reporter for the HiLite. Email her at [email protected].