Don't Make Good People Do Bad Things

Another Veterans Day, another 24 hours under a national psychosis. Americans reflexively thank veterans for their ‘service,’ but why? 

If more Americans were to read John Waters’ River City One, perhaps more Americans would substitute gratitude with an apology. Waters portrays the mental anguish many veterans endure via the fictional but likely sad realities of his brothers in arms. Though at times amusing, the reader hopes that what he is reading is not an accounting of the author’s loneliness, substance abuse, infidelity, and aimlessness.

But dwelling on that distracts from the point: When good people are required to do bad things, life devolves into ritualistic torture. Patriotic Americans thank veterans for their actions in uniform, but what happens after veterans shed the uniform is seldom discussed. Thankfully, Waters describes that in compelling, moving prose.