You vets get it. I knew you would. Once a warrior, always a warrior, even though the ethos gravitates from violence to peace. That it can gravitate both ways is the way of the warrior, but that is at the will of the warrior and circumstances governing it. It just so happens that the older warrior strives for peace, he will do what violence is necessary to maintain it, usually based on the knowledge of what happens if one doesn't step up and do the right thing.
You know, I really think there is a lot of distance between what civilians THINK a veteran is capable of/thinking about vs. the reality of. We are all like you, but we have had a similar experience that, at the root, is something both profound and enigmatic. You just can't understand it until you walk (30miles, maybe more) in our boots. I tried prior to service, I was "gung-ho" as a civilian, but the army changed me into a much more different person. Both good and bad. Good that I have a clarity of what this country means. Bad in that I have the capabilities to undo those that wish to infringe upon our liberties. Napolitano labeled me, and I considered it personal, that I am an "enemy of the state" and that I should be feared. Really? Because I won't abandon my oath?
I am the second stage warrior. I grow Iris flowers because they are the epitomy of beauty in my eyes. They make me smile. I find beauty in life through difficult transgresstions that I have overcome. If that gives me a look when in bad situations, so be it, I didn't exactly ask for it, but I guess it is genuine. I have had remarks on it before, but like I said, I thought it came from squinting in the sun!
It comes in stages. The young are unaware, a blank slate. As they grow older, they exhibit traits based on experience. The young that join becoming warriors, they go through a process that changes them deep inside. I can't explain it. It is indoctrination to some degree, but a lot of it has to do with those that surround you. Those other guys that will die for you that carry the same ethos. That changes you profoundly. Those guys, man those guys... I'd go farther than I'd go for my own mother for those guys, every one.
But at the base of it all, we all want peace. Subconsciously, we probably knew this all along. When peace is shattered, our world is shattered, and we have only one way of dealing with it. We can't take it sitting down like the guys on Wall Street waiting for a better day. No, we see injustice and it becomes a real problem. Some bottle it up, some act, but all release at some point, sometimes for bad.
Wanna see a real "look"? See a soldier smile. He knows all is well. Only an ignorant soul would break that peace, and depending on the circumstance, may pay dearly for breaking that peace. Note that with us, there may not be a look, the action takes place before the rational mind has a chance to display body language. Then the look takes on a veil of remorse, a sadness in that it came to violence. We don't walk around with 1000yd. stares. We walk along with all the trials and tribulations that made us who we are, and that my friends, lends us whatever look we have.
Pray for peace, prepare for war. In other words, find beauty in life and embrace it, protect it with all your heart. That is most important of all. Prepare for transgression through practice of warrior skill. It need not dominate your life. In fact, it should always take a back seat to pursuit of the peaceful mind.
Take it from me. One who once had to answer the question, "So, what do you do for a living?", where I replied, "I kill people for money". One who almost lost the most magnificent wife one could dream of. I say, peace is the goal, both within and without towards your neighbors.
We should all be on the same side, us veterans, you supporters, and those politicians. If a veteran, then the search for peace. If a supporter of veterans, then search for peace. If a user of veterans, then search for peace. Am I leaving anything out? I thought not.
However, sometimes I must admit I laugh at your looks when in fact I should cry.
