Harrison Ford or Wyatt Martin? You Decide

We live in some very, very strange times.  Global warming scares, vaccination nightmares, ammunition bans, the reintroduction of the scarlet letter (against the LGBT community), spring temperatures followed by a foot of ice, and then, there's the stuff that is really messed up.  These certainly are weird and wacky times.

What causes this mania?  Is it more apparent because we have instant news coverage 24/7?  I remember getting into an argument with a gentleman a few years ago about how I believed that the Internet, social media, and the instant access to news and information has isolated us from one another and we haven't the ability any longer to have meaningful community.  He argued that since we have such access, we are able to communicate with people across the globe instantly.  I think my point still stands - video chat and emails are fine, but their not the same as holding someone as they weep and mourn a loss.  Neither is technology in a place where joy can be shared and spread.  I win this argument every time.

I suppose the up side to having instant access to information is that we're notified pretty quickly when elected officials pull their douchebaggery.  But then again, it only serves to piss off most of us with 50 functioning brain cells left.  It's one thing to hear about the idiocy of elected officials through the proverbial grapevine, but when the complete details of their shitheadedness is open for all to see, it's rather embarrassing.  Like in Oklahoma - the state has been the butt of jokes across the nation and we're kind of like that religious zealot cousin who ends up getting caught diddling the neighbor's daughter.  It's humiliating that we allow some of the bullshit that spews from under the dome to flow so freely. 

Then, there's news about Harrison Ford crashing a WWII airplane and being critically injured.  He is an avid pilot, according to news reports, and hailed by his fellow hobbyists with awards and commendations.  I don't mean to be a dick, but let's do the math, shall we?

1.  He's 72 years old.  Not that 72 is old, but it makes you wonder why he was...
2.  Flying a WWII aircraft.  Why?  Not that it really matters, but good heavens.  There are things I cannot do any longer and they have to be sacrificed at the altar of living. 

It doesn't make sense at all.  But, here's a noteworthy story that I promise you haven't heard:

Spc. Wyatt J. Martin, 22 of Mesa, Arizona died December 12, 2014 in Parwan Province, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when the enemy attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive devise.  The soldiers were assigned to 3rd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, Fort Hood, Texas.  Martin joined the Army in August of 2012 and had been assigned to Fort Hood's 2nd Squadron, 3rd Calvary Regiment, 1st Calvary Division, since June of 2014.  He deployed to Afghanistan in June 2014.   (See more here.)

A kid.  50 years younger than a Hollywood star, probably without the star's income level.  He laid down his life for his country and its citizens.  Ford was fucking around in a WWII aircraft.  Martin was deployed to Afghanistan in the same month that Ford broke his leg making a Star Wars movie. 

So you tell me:  Who should be getting the headlines?

We live in a world where we worship Hollywood stars and musicians, but we can't seem to realize that as a nation, we owe our freedoms to men and women like Wyatt Martin.  Martin literally laid down his life for you and me - what is his reward?  Where is his parade? 

Sure, he enlisted, signed up and he knew the risks.  But he was a brave man, doing something that 1% of the population has the balls to do:  Take an oath and stand a post.

It's sad that Harrison Ford was injured and the hope is that he heals and returns to his next movie set unharmed. 

It's more sad, however, that the American people forget about the Wyatt Martins in our midst. 

This is just my opinion, and I could be wrong.  But I seriously doubt it. 

Gorilla