Two Soldiers

Posted on September 18, 2005 in Neighborhood

I saw two soldiers at the entrance to my condo complex. Or, at least, a man and a woman dressed as soldiers in camouflage and government issue boots. A crowd gathered next to a pole and the two were just leaving as we drove by. For a moment, I thought that Bush’s standing in the polls had dropped below 30 percent and that martial law had been declared.

The other people were standing next to a pole festooned with lost cat posters and advertisements of garage sales. They were laughing over something and waving at the soldiers.

There aren’t any military bases within twenty miles of us. So what were they doing here? Living? Visiting the parents of one? Probably something as innocuous as all that.

In another time, I might not worry about this. Two soldiers paying a visit to someone in the neighborhood, wearing the uniform because they’d been told by their commanders that it was good for PR. These times are different, however. Our leaders believe in absolute power. I don’t trust them not to use the military against the People and I don’t trust the military to protect the People against them. Sad times indeed. Soldiers should be seen as friendly servants and fellow citizens, not pawns of the powerful.