Song of the Age

The song "Hero of War" by the band Rise Against brings to light some of the tragedies occuring among our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.  "Hero of War" loosely follows one young man as he serves in our nation's military. The song doesn't center on the man but on the barbarous acts being committed and how distraught our returning soldiers are over what they have done. Today, most Americans are apathetic towards both wars as they battle with a slow economy and unemployment problems at home. This sense of apathy towards our soldiers is apparent in the lyrics, "And I brought home that flag, Now it gathers dust." With an all-volunteer military, few citizens care about where or why we send our soldiers to die. The only time I have heard something said about our wars deals with casualties or cost. Civilians have lost faith in the U.S. government and military and it (as it did in Vietnam) is beginning to affect our soldiers in the field and those who return.