The American soldiers were searching for an artillery spotter and a young marine notices a shepherd with his flock of sheep in the area...The young man lines up the gun site of his weapon and tells his commander he going to take out(kill) the shepherd. The commander says, "Does he have any binoculars? No." He goes on, "Is he doing anything suspicious? No. " The commander tells the soldier to hold his fire... Don't fire...

This is not uncommon...ready to kill innocent human beings because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.... Is it video games? Is it brainwashing? What is it? Does someone shoot down an unarmed shepherd with his flock for nothing more than coming up on the horizon? I had attended church hundreds of times before I became a soldier but pre-nde, I may have done the same thing as that young marine... Or might not have even asked before I shot an innocent man?

When I was a child I had younger brothers and one of my brothers would want to play with me and my friends but he was too small...and would ruin our fun. He would become frustrated and sometimes he would hit me... I couldn't let it go when he did and I would chase him down and tackle him...then thump on his chest until he promised not to ever do that again... I had an internal sense that I would never hit my brother in the face or injure him....It just wasn't right... but in years of brainwashing from my pastor who scorned Atheists from China, Russia, & Cuba...who blasted Muslims to school teachers who had the whole class sing the Green Beret Song during the Vietnam war;

[quote]Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret.


Silver Wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret.


Trained to live off nature's land
Trained in combat, hand to hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage picked from the Green Beret.


Silver Wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win the Green Beret.


Back at home a young wife waits
Her Green Beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her his last request.


Put Silver Wings on my son's chest
Make him one of America's best
He'll be a man they'll test one day
Have him win the Green Beret.
[/quote]

To the television and politicians asking America to defend Democracy
during the Vietnam War...

All along the way I attended church and believed
God was love but did God love North Vietnamese?
Did God love Chinese? Did God love Russians?
Did God love Muslims?
My answer was vague back then but more
or less I believed God only loved Christians...

I don't know how loving your neighbor as yourself turned
into God only loved Christians(straight Christians) non Catholic...
that is Christians....(In my brainwashed Fundamentalist world-view
Catholics were also hated by God)...

But I had Jewish friends...and I had Catholic friends after I joined the army so I changed my mind about Jews and Catholics but Muslims, Chinese, Russians, & Cubans,,, and gooks(North Vietnamese) were fair game.... I could hate them...
because they were strangers...

When I returned from my NDE, those other people I hated, who I didn't know, suddenly were as close to being like my little brother as when I was chasing him down as a child.... I could see stopping them from hurting me but I could never again see a reason to cause Muslims, Chinese, Russians, & Cubans harm even if they harmed me... We shared the same Godness or light and even if they killed me... I would still forgive them... They just had not learned the lesson I learned in my NDE... about how we should love our neighbors as ourselves... And I don't hate that soldier who wanted to kill that innocent shepherd but I can not hold my tongue when a preacher, politician, or teacher tells anyone that we should love our neighbor as ourselves and then left handed tell anyone to support troops that will kill innocent human beings....

Defending murder and murderers may be okay to fundamentalists and secular alike but post NDE, I will not... I may even eat my words and kill some Chinese soldier storming through my door some day who just sees me as a fundamentalist nut because of the complexion of my skin but I hope not...