War

Background

The book American Sniper came out in 2012 well before the movie. Chris Kyle is credited as the sniper with the most confirmed kills of any American before. The story is in his words and was completed before he was killed in 2013.

My Thoughts

I still haven’t seen the movie so I was very interested in the book. I work with our Marines on a daily basis and was interested in the book purely on that merit. Much of the war aspects rung true with what I had been told in my years of working with the Marines. Of course, Chris Kyle was a Navy SEAL but he frequently worked with Marines and was very complimentary of them.

I was struck in particular of how plain his words were. We have heard so much rhetoric in our society, I enjoyed hearing an unvarnished version. No apologies, no excuses. He simply was who he was and was just fine with it.

My personal opinion is that war really sucks. It is also sometimes justified. Rarely are there black and white decisions. Chris Kyle says he sees things in mostly black and white with very little grey. I suppose he had to think of it that way to do his job.

I had a discussion a long time ago with an older gentlemen on the topic of war. The man told his sons, “Be loving in peace but be terrible in war.” I had a hard time with that concept then. I’m still struggling with it now. However, I do see the utility in the statement.

Recommendation

If you are an adult who is relatively secure with yourself, I would suggest you read this book. I did enjoy it and the thoughts it spurred. However, it is graphic and violent and generally not for folks with a forming or weaker constitution. It discusses a topic we should all know about and we are very fortunate to have avoided.