Side of the Bullet

The bullet may penetrate all hearts the same, but the man pulling the trigger does not have to show the same kindness. This past summer I met a boy.

Now this is not just an ordinary boy I am talking about here, this particular boy is going into the army. He is going to be a Brave, Uniform, Loyal, Laureate, Elite, Trooper. But I am worried about him. He told me (using slurs that shall never be repeated) what he thinks about the people in the Middle East. I was completely startled by his comments. How can this boy say these things about a whole group if people just because they are who are represented in the news by people at the extreme end of the bell curve? That’s when I remembered something: he is just a nineteen-year-old boy.

Once he joins the fight he will be shoved into becoming a man well beyond his years. The only question that remains is what kind of man will he become? Will he become a good man and treat everyone like the bullet does; or will he become close with the scum of the Earth, forgetting his humanity with the pull of the trigger; or maybe he will somehow rise above it all, becoming more benevolent than the bullet and show compassion and mercy upon America’s enemies. Whatever this boy becomes, I hope he learns that people, like life, are not black and white, but shades of grey. That all people have a soul, a heart, a wrath, and a wickedness about them – no matter what side of the bullet they are on.