Should you take the law into your own hands?

It's hard to kill someone. I'm not sure anyone on here could do it in a one on one, physical, close quarters, combat, look them in the eye, situation. I've never had too. Killing someone from a distance, in a war environment, drives soldiers insane, some over a period of time, others almost instantly. It does change you. Knowing that you have ended a life, killed a man who might have been a father, and for sure was a son, could have been a husband, could have been a brother.

You spend a lot, and I mean, a lot of time, inside your own head, wondering what that man was. Who he was, what he enjoyed, who he loved, and on the good days, you wonder who he hated, was he a nice man, did he kill anyone before you killed him, and you always wonder if you did the right thing, war doesn't figure into your thinking, war is just a word to most folks, the only movie ever to even come close is Full Metal Jacket, the rest of them are jokes.

If someone forced me to kill them by breakin into my home, I could, and I would, without any hesitation, that would be a lot easier than killing someone that you know nothing about except that they are wearing the wrong uniform and fighting for the other side. The first thing I learned, was that it's not a soldier's job to give their life for their country, it's a soldiers job to make the other fella give his life for his country. That strikes home hard every 25th of March.

Growing up, Sgt. Alvin C. York was my hero, he was a man who fought, though, he didn't want to fight, but sometimes, it's either fight or give up all you believe in, and that's what he ended up doing. I'm proud to say he grew up, just up the road from where I live. The only man I consider a hero, that has been born in my lifetime is Pat Tillman, a man who gave up millions and fame and fortune, in the NFL, to defend everything that he believed in. No happy ending for Tillman, he was killed by friendly fire.

Yall can forgive me, or not, ive been drinkin since 6 last night, and it's 2 now, and I still got plenty of beer left. Cant get drunk, never can today, Ive forgotten my wedding anniversary before, my birthday, my wife's birthday, even some of my kids birthdays, just because I get my days mixed up, lose track of time, but I always know when the 25 of March is comin. My wife and my kids know to leave me alone, don't call, don't text, don't come by, cause March 25th is my own personal hell. One thing the beer does do well though, it shortens the day.

No decent person can kill somebody and not be changed, be affected in ways that change their life from that point on. It's not something that you forget bout in a month, or a year, or a decade. There's an episode of Mash, that shows a pilot, who's job is just to drop his payload and go home for the day, killing who the hell knows, and he sees some of the effects of what he has done, cause he never really gave it any thought, until he faced the people, and kids he had been bombing. That would be easier, than pulling a trigger and ending a man's life.

Knowing that it's you or them, that doesn't help either. That just makes it to where you can actually function as a human being, and hold a job, and try to keep these angers and horrors locked away for another day. Talkin to a psychiatrist helps, I guess, keeps things from being bottled up, but the drugs they give you, they don't help anything at all, cept they got me hooked on paxil back in the 90's, bad enough to where I had to ween myself off them a little at a time, with no damn help from the doctors.

I'm not bragging, cause its sure as hell nothing to brag bout, but I figure I'm the only person on this thread to ever take a life, to ever kill a man. I may be the only person on this site, for all I know I may be the only doctor who fan to ever be unfortunate enough to end somebodys existence.

I get miserable today, knowing that I'm alive to see my kids grow up, to see my grandkids, you say, why does that make you miserable, cause i took away something that God gave, i don't know what i took away, taking a life seems so simple, until you think about it. Didi I take away a grandfather, did i prevent children from being born,


This probably doesn't belong on this thread or on this site, but the question was asked, and my wish for all of you, is that you never ever have to find out. Thank your vets, thank your cops, thank your fire fighters, cause they see things that can drive decent people insane, yet they still do their jobs, God bless em.

I'm not sayin yall couldn't defend yourselves, I'm just hoping you never have to. And i don't suspect any of you will take advice from me, but if you catch someone breaking into your house, and you have the chance to take them out, then do it. Don't give them the chance to take you out. Cause they aint there to wish you nice day, if you can knock em out, that's great, if you can keep a gun on em till the cops get there that's great, but don't hesitate if it's you or them, cause if you do, you might not live to regret it. And one thing i know that kees me goin on, is that it was him or me, and i get to enjoy my grandkids, i hate it more than any of you could even phathom that he's dead, but it is what it is. What it does is suck that we live in a world where it came to that. But what can you do? Just give up? I'm no quitter, but I'm all for quitting wars if somebody could figure out how to avoid them, id be all for it.

Sorry for the rant, i don't think i crossed the line, but i am a bit buzzed, i know I'm not drunk, cause i cant trype when i get drunk, but I'm getting close. 10 or 16 more beers and it'll be bedtime, and i can get this day behind me for another year.