I think this cartoon captures my feelings about the episode better than anything I’ve seen in print or any other media till now.
People who join a military or militia are doing so for the purpose of taking part in armed combat. As far as I understand it, all forms of military training are designed to foster blind obedience and faith in the correctness of ones commanding officers’ orders to kill people, with a minimum of questioning who those people are and why they should be killed.
Military/militia life is fundamentally dehumanizing for the above reason. Is it any surprise that some of these people will turn on their own kind?
I think Einstein said it best in the poster I had on my wall throughout high school:
“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice. This disgrace to civilisation should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”
Hey, Ted, how about a comic targeting the billions in agricultural subsidies that Republican-dominated farm states are happy to accept in spite of voting for “small government” touting morons? Maybe that money would be better spent creating green jobs everywhere.
I’ve read this strip for 18 years now, or about half my life! I’ll miss it. The last time I felt this way about a comic strip ending was when Charles Schulz passed away. At least it was a beautiful ending. Thanks for everything, Lynn.
She should have become a GNU/Linux hacker.