Halloween Special

Witches, bats, spiderweb, creaky floors in old houses, grinning jack-o-lanterns and spooky shadows and flickering candles are for babies.

For those of you who are looking to be really scared, I put this Halloween Picture Special together entitled:

The Glorification of Military Service

Times Square Subway Station at around 6 p.m., 30 October 2008

Set a good example. -Mom

I hope you realize there are starving kids out there. -Mom

Play nice. -Mom

Your face will freeze that way. -Mom

Respect your elders. -Mom

Be good. -Mom

Be home by dark. -Mom

And what if your friends jumped off a cliff? -Mom

Again: I hope you realize there are starving kids out there. -Mom

Mom: you gave them the values. The US army gives them the opportunity.

Subway indoctrination like you never knew it.

Now. I know this is a really well done campaign. Really, really well done. Great shots. Phrases that speak to your emotions. A campaign that speaks to your will to make this a better world--it stills your bad conscience a little and makes you straighten your back and go, "Yeah, we do perform a lot of good in this world." It makes moms proud of what their navy kids are doing out wherever they are stationed. And it makes moms who do not yet have their kids in the navy feel that this is, after all, something you can't be selfish about--you want your son or daughter to stay at home, but look at all the good they can do out in the world.

Like, I said. It's really, really well done. And this is what scares me. Because anybody even remotely familiar with what's going on in the world knows that the US military isn't exactly always playing this good-deed-doer role around the world. Iraq. Afghanistan. What's going on in Syria? (In case you haven't heard, Syria claims that there was a US airborn attack against civilian targets on Syrian territory last Sunday, but Washington has neither confirmed nor denied anything as of yet). I'm not saying that a lot of kids don't go out there with the intention of doing good, I'm sure they do. But regardless of that, the glorification of military service is after all glorification of war, and the killing of countless civilians who most likely don't want anything to do with the whole thing.

I'm sorry if I'm not very patriotic, but the American half of me has to excuse the half of me that is European.

But the European half has to excuse me because it's Halloween and I'm going to have a slice of pumpkin pie and hopefully, hopefully get my aunt to come with me and watch the Halloween Parade.

Happy Halloween!