Dear Soldier

Today I read a story about a young soldier that was killed 2 months after his first son was born, and it lead me to question the nature of the sacrifice, especially for young black American soldiers. By all accounts, I know many friends that have enlisted at some point of time…. Commonly lured by the security, opportunity and prospect of assistance with higher educational costs. Most of those that I know never joined because they love this country and want to fight on its behalf….. matter of factly when the time for duty came.. they found themselves upset, unprepared and fearful of all that was at stake. Me personally, I don’t feel like there is any cause worth dying for… especially for this corrupt, deceitful, greedy, oppressive country. I find it an abomination that we actually will present ourselves as an example as affairs nationwide in this country are in disarray. How dare we try to organize issues abroad while Americans suffer? It is irresponsible and I would never ever jeopardize my life or my family to represent a country in which my black people have a very checkered past. Recently, I have been teaching my African husband about slavery, as he is completely amiss about such topics as the Klu Klux Klan, freedom riders, lynching just to name a few, an abomination that this country is yet to try to make right. Even within the military I have heard stories of racism among soldiers that fight on the same platoon….. wear the same uniform…. Represent the same country. It is that very fact that would never allow me to shed my blood. Period. I sympathize with the many black soldiers that have met their demise in our military and their families. And perhaps if you are considering joining the military, I encourage you count up the costs, and if the cost is indeed too high, I encourage you to refrain from putting your most precious commodity of life on the line for a country that stands for all the things that we do.. I ask you to question whether our influence is needed at this current time, or if it would be more wise for us to order our environment first before trying to mold other countries. The below clip showcases some of the challenges that the families of militarily experience as well as a heartfelt surprise.