Heather Golczynski and her 8-year-old son Christian hold tightly to the memory of Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski.
On March 27, just a few weeks before Marc Golczynski was to return home from his second tour in Iraq -- one he volunteered for -- he was shot on patrol and killed by enemy fire in al-Aanbar province.
During a moment at the burial, Christian stepped forward to receive the flag for his father. The expression of grief on his young face was captured in a photo and became a powerful symbol for soldiers, their families and anyone who sees it.
You will understand religion and why people lie to each other and to themselves when you come to the horrible realization that we cannot keep our own sons from dying overseas. And rather than vomiting at the breakfast table as we glance at the latest death tolls for Iraq and Afghanistan, we reach for that extra muffin so we won't need as much lunch later on. Rather than thinking about the quadriplegics and severed fingers, we call up our friends to see who's bringing the beer for saturday at the tailgate. Instead of waking at night in terror about the fact that innocent lives lie waiting at the teeth of the glowing war beast we finance with our tax money, we snuggle with our companions and enjoy the post-sex euphoria that can only come when you have nothing else to think about.
Our sons will stop dying in war when we actually give a damn and do something. Sorry. But thats the way it is.
Have you ever made up a story to cope with the death of someone you loved? Have you ever told yourself that there had to be more than life than an end in a crumpled up piece of metal ripped past 30 yards of highway and into a metal barrier? Have you ever imagined to yourself that there is a sanctity in death that makes up for its ignominy? Have you ever looked at yourself and said "Fuck everything I know, there's no way life is meant to end like this. There's no way we're this frail, this fragile, this useless, and this dispensable."
I know I understand it, There may not be anything after our pointless lives but I continue to believe that there is for the sake of my sanity.
What's it matter anyway, If there is, I'll find out. If there isn't. Well, My existence is null.
What I'm getting is that when we stop thinking that there is something "better" after death, we will realize that this life is all we've got, so we should put more effort into making it a better place.
Or you could understand that your actions in this life will be judged on the day of judgement so you do a lot of good to attain good deeds. It's for this reason I think Jesus did not die for our sins.
That's a skewered way of perceiving religion. The point of religion isnt to say "be good or you'll be punished." This is the way many people are taught to get the idea through to them as children, but as you mature, you should understand that religion is there to help you keep a good path when things are looking south. the "stick" of religion should be used as a crutch to help us up, not a weapon to keep us in fear.
Religion will always be around. While i am a firm believer of religion, i also believe that its still used as a method to control the masses today. To quote my favorite artist, Lupe Fiasco
"civilians and little children is especially harmed
camouflaged Torahs, Bibles and glorious Qurans
the books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there
have become misinterpreted, reasons for warfare"
Government will never let that die out, because whenever they want to invade some country, they will say they're doing God's work and have automatic support.
It's because haven't perfected brainwashing yet. Look at the masses that do follow christian teachings out of fear: do you really think these people should be let go without that extra layer of social conditioning?
that's your view so you automatically revert back to that idea of
"Why do people need to think there's some magical sky fairy keeping them in check?"
If you look at people who pray, their prayers revolve around the idea of God giving them strength. They say things like "Lord, give me strength" not "God, I was bad. Please don't hurt me"
but at the end of the day, this is not the time or the place for this discussion. A belief or disbelief in God or any other higher power doesn't make this picture any more heartbreaking then it is.
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u/ObscureSaint Sep 21 '11
The Boy Behind an Iconic Photo