Semper FFFUUUUUU

Saying I am patriotic would not be a downright lie, but it certainly would not be the absolute truth. I mean, I love my country and am grateful for the freedoms I know many men and women fought, sacrificed, and died for, but you’ll never see me headlining some Independence Day Parade with the US flag painted on my chest, singing “America the Beautiful.” I had my anti-America phase.

That is to say, I listened to the album American Idiot religiously and was generally all-around an angsty, mildly rebellious and pretty damn ignorant 14-year-old.

Ahem.

Anyone with any sense of irony might chuckle, then, to know that my freshmen year of college one of my best friends was a soon-to-be 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. He taught me a lot, and definitely gave me a fresh perspective on the military (I am by no means a pacifist anymore) and what it really means to serve our country. I respect him a lot for the sacrifices he has already made, and is wholeheartedly willing to keep making in the name of justice, and to bring our boys who are already out there, back home to their loved ones.

Yeah. He’s kind of my hero.

Being a Marine is a huge part of his life, but it is not the only part. He’s also a gnarly guitarist. He’s the guy who introduced me to Creature Comforts and Oh, Sleeper and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. He’s the guy who took me out to dinner when I was sad and who gave me some of the best (albeit hardest) advice of my life on multiple occasions.

He’s just awesome, okay? Take my word for it.

So I HATE IT when anyone (girls especially, I guess) go all googly-eyed over the boy in uniform. I have to admit there is this uncanny appeal to the dress blues, but I dunno, I just think it’s shallow to want to get to know a guy or just get into his pants because he’s military. In this particular instance, I’m sure I’m at least a little biased. But just because I’m a musician doesn’t mean I walk around with my bass slung on me all the time, now does it. I’m also a writer and I like Transformers and big hugs and if you wanna love me,  if you get to really know me, these are all things you will learn. Everyone deserves respect and to be treated like a person. He’s a man, ladies. Not just a piece of meat in a pretty blue coat.

/endrant