Shipwrecked & Comatose

Imagine this.  You want to become an astronaut.  You study hard and go to college and obtain a science degree.  You obtain a Master's Degree.  You train to be a pilot and log 1000 hours commanding a jet aircraft.  You go through a rigorous physical exam.  At the end of all that, maybe NASA will let you fly a rocket ship if your training and skills are sufficient and you are in good physical condition.   Imagine what it must feel like when a billionaire skips the line and buys his way into space.  The United States has one of the best space programs on the planet (the only planet humans currently occupy) and this is because NASA hires the most qualified people.  It hires the best engineers and technicians and pilots.  The astronaut program only accepts candidates who can pass its rigorous physical tests.  It's not a profession for the dilettante or the faint of heart.  One does not become an astronaut because one thinks it ...

On every patriotic holiday my social media feeds say the same thing.  I must thank a veteran or military member for my freedom.  I must remember the men and women who died for my freedom.  I wouldn't have my freedom without war and death and fighting. I admit I don't know what Americans are talking about when they talk about "freedom" anymore .  It seems freedom is defined differently by differing political groups.  I try to define freedom in my own way.  Regardless of how one defines it, I am skeptical of the idea that freedom hinges on the acts of only one group of people. Before you attack me as a military-hating, evil, liberal scum, I am not writing this piece to disrespect the military.  I know I am a liberal peacenik.  I do wish we lived in a world where countries didn't need enormous, expensive, fighting forces to exist.  I am also a realist.  I know we don't live in that kind of world (or I understand the US can't be that kind of...