Freedom is not free; the currency is blood

I recently saw the feature film "300" and it instantly became one of my top 3 favorite movies (drama) of all time. It falls between "Gladiator" and "Troy." I have always been fascinated by war, especially in the days of epic battles between legions of men with the hand-held weapons of old. In those days, a boy had manhood thrust upon him at a very early age, and war was his institution of higher learning. In those days, men truly lived by the sword and died by the sword.

I have always been instantly captivated by war hero's such as Achilles, Hector, Maximus and now Leonidas. I always love to learn about the Roman conquest and of Persian wars... war torn cities of Greek lands, from Athens to Sparta; Troy and beyond. Armies of hundreds of thousands that would battle with tremendous vigor.

What strikes me as the most fascinating aspect of early war is simply how it was fought. Men took up arms and looked their opponent in the eye as he thrust his jagged sword or spear into their flesh. It must have been a very emotional moment, taking someones life by the blade of sharpened iron or steel. The brutality and shear violence of it all must have been heavy for the soldiers of ancient times to bear, yet the burden lay on many men's hearts. All civilization as we know it has been forged by the battle of men, and the mortar of our foundations are soaked in the blood of our enemies.

I often try to imagine how it must have been if I had been a soldier or Rome, Sparta or any ancient civilization. I try to picture marching shoulder to shoulder in my first battle, heavy laden with armor and restricted in vision by my bronze helmet. A shield perhaps on one arm and a sword in the other, marching in unison with my brethren.

Then the enemy appears in the distance, and my hand tightens around the handle of my sword. Our commanding officer speaks of glory and honor to increase morale and then we launch into battle. I see myself running in formation toward a man who is just as passionate about war, and his own life as me. The sudden clang of steel on steel and the cry of war as I maneuver my weapon into position to strike.

If I am lucky, his defenses will by caught off guard just enough for my blade to pierce his chest and penetrate the cavity like a needle through soft cloth. His eyes open wide as he looks into my face, the last thing he will ever see. As the pain begins to overtake his senses he must think of his wife, his children and his legacy. When a man sees his end, he likes to think his life had some purpose. To die is noble, and there is honor in dieing in battle.

He chokes on his last breaths as the weight of his body falls towards me and his flesh runs further down my sword. I toss the body down to the side and look forward for the next strike, after all this is a battle of men and there is no lack of targets. No room for hesitation or after thought, you are a machine and your purpose is war and death.

If you are lucky enough to survive you have the pleasure of planning for the next battle. For in the days of ancient civilizations, times of peace were few and far between. Kill or be killed, it was said... and it rang true for many of the day.

Today, our wars are fought by weapons of mass destruction. Snipers can pick off targets from miles away. Bombs, missiles and heavy artillery wipe out enemies with the push of a button. Entire countries can be theoretically wiped from the face of the earth my nuclear technology. In the days of old, the only way to eliminate your foe was by hunting him out and taking his life.

It makes me wonder, when I see people of today's generation speak of themselves as "gangstas" and "true soldiers" or "going to war;" if they have any real concept of what these terms imply. I often think of if we had to revert to times of old, and all men had to take up arms to defend his land, in battle... what would the outcome be?

It takes a very particular person, a very specific state of mind... a knowledge and wisdom not easily found to be a soldier. There is a fine line between a killer and a soldier. To go to war and without hesitation kill out of necessity for the common good of your country is what a soldier does best. He does not strike from the back, or kill from afar and take glory in his efforts. A soldier looks his victim in the eye and does what he must as quickly as he can and moves on. Rarely will he ever speak of it again. There lies no glory in death. Death is only a bi product of life and liberty and the pursuit of maintaining a countries policy and protection.

War was very necessary back then, the blueprints of the world were being drawn. Territories were forged. Today, we know much more vividly how the world works. Today's wars lack the significance and meaning. Today no soldier should die in vain. Peace should be more easily attainable. Today war is cast in greed and for capital gain. Diamonds create war in Sierra Leon. Oil plagues the wars of the middle east. Income generates war in the modern workplace.

It would be a shame if our great ancestors from around the world died so that our advanced civilizations could so easily lose their honor. Men lived and died for freedom, freedom from politics, freedom from occupation, and freedom from oppression. They wanted the freedom to live and grow without the burden of hypocrisy.

I wish all of our current soldiers the best in the war that plagues us yet today, for those men and women are true soldiers. God be with you.