Killing Comes Naturally

It existed strong within me when I was born and they nurtured it well, right from the very start

I liked to shout and strike out and I escaped from all my fears by hiding deep within a blind fury

When the fighting fog was upon me I did not even feel their blows

But early on they broke me with savage beatings - and then they began to train me

I fought my way onto the elementary school playground and took up the violent sports

I learned the visceral joy of bodies smashing into one another, over and over again

I was able to overcome my sprains and bruises so as to not miss the real battles

I trained religiously and came to truly believe that every day was a good day to die

There was no questioning the purity and absolute truth of unrestrained combat

As to its origins and wider social implications, such things are not the concern of warriors

I was born with the potential to violence and it has been carefully fostered ever since

It is a thing that we humans have always cultivated, both culturally and genetically

I was taught exactly when and where my violence was expected and applauded

We spent hours most every day bonding together, honing our full contact skills

Though we were violent and aggressive, since we obeyed, we were encouraged and not jailed

We learned to control our rage to more effectively defeat our opponents

For hours on end I would review a good move or a shameful defeat

Mere citizens who did not ever participate could never hope to understand

Others, exploding without discipline, struggled vainly against the authority we protected

We earned respect and honor in the proud tradition of unquestioned patriotic violence

And, of course, we followed the siren song of the great organized military

They trained us to a new and even higher moral and physical standard

They removed our individuality and taught us to follow orders without thinking

We ignored that they gave us over to the wishes of the cowardly, greasy, fast-talking politicians

They told us our unnecessary losses in their foolish wars could never be in vain, so we fought on

With our guts shot out and legs blown off we still struggled mightily simply to rejoin our units

Bushido, the way of the warrior, was the only way we knew, the only way we ever wished to know

They trained us as team killers and then told us to go home, be good citizens and raise up families