A brief reaction to visiting the pentagon

Although my trip to Washington, D.C. consisted of a mere half hour drive and 40-minute plane ride, being here has exposed me to a different culture. Visiting the pentagon was yet another eye-opener that showed me an aspect of America beyond the anti-war, Democratic, don’t-support-our-troops New York.

Where I live, somebody going off to join the military is extremely rare and, in many cases, seen as a waste. “Why can’t he get a real career?” people ask. But our tour guides were proud of what they do. They did not seem overly serious or unhappy; rather, it was quite the contrary—they had a great sense of humor and flaunted their occupation with badges on their clothes like a professional athlete who showcases a trophy on his shelf. I would think it grim for someone to work in a field in which he could in fact die any time he goes to battle, and even grimmer to know he could kill another human being. However, this did not appear to have an affect on these members of the military. One even cracked jokes about having a badge “for fifty people killed in Iraq” (it wasn’t true). It absolutely baffles me that somebody can live like that and not be brought down each and every day of his life.