[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Thanks for this entry, Steve. I have a friend who was in Iraq closer to the beginning of the war. He saw a lot of awful things and although he has transitioned back home pretty well, you can still sense that he's a changed man. I have seen how hard it is for him to even talk about what happened there.

Your suggestion to "strive to be a more conscious person yourself" is helpful, because barring that, it's hard to know what to do. I know that I feel helpless to give him any comfort because I can never understand the feelings he's dealing with. At least there is something we can do to help out. If more people stop picking sides ("heroes" vs. "villians") and just live compassionate, joyful, peaceful lives...maybe we can make a difference.