During broken pieces of this weekend, Kyle and I have caught splices of “Band of Brothers,” and last night, a Memorial Day concert from our nation’s capital. I verbally expressed astonishment at the bravery of those in Easy Company, but the portrayal of wars effect prompted Kyle to request a channel change. The concert included a tribute to Staff Sergeant José Peque?o and his family. The young man had about a third of his head blown off in Iraq and didn’t appear to have any awareness of why he was there. The story was more about the sacrifices his sister and mother have made in caring for him since his injury. He is one of 34,000 American soldiers wounded in Iraq. Nearly 5,000 have died, along with an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians.

In related news, and in the midst of the worst economic downturn in nearly a century, Raytheon’s profit rose 15% in their latest quarter. The company derives 93% of its revenues from building weapons, and is just one of many US companies that profit from conflicts all over the world.

I will never begin to understand the bravery of soldiers like those in Easy Company and Staff Sergeant Peque?o, nor will I accept the greedy motivations that in 2009, continue to make war a growth industry by placing them and thousands of other human beings in harms way.