A Little Bit Of This...

and a little bit of that.

The this and that is my recent foray into the historical military movies.

I've been watching through Band Of Brothers for the first time, and so far am simultaneously moved, saddened, sickened, and almost...belittled by what I have seen.

Based on true events that occurred to America's Easy Company, 101st Airbourne, through their experiences during their drops in WWII.

The soundtrack is easily the most moving piece of music I have heard lately.

But I was talking to a friend earlier today, and he expressed disinterest and distaste for this genre of movies. Well, that's fine because we're all allowed our likes and dislikes, but I just think this --

I don't watch this stuff to laugh or be horrified at the gruesome occurrences. I watch so I won't forget the sacrifices that thousands of soldiers made for us...whether American, Canadian, or British. Their bravery puts me to shame, and I often wonder what I would do in situations like those.

Not only that, just living through the experiences of warfare was not the only difficult thing for the soldiers. They eventually had to return to a society of people who could not understand what they had lived through, the things they had done, and the things they had seen.

I never want to forget what people have done for freedom, I never want to minimize the sacrifices those soldiers made, I never want to push the unpleasantness to the far recesses of my mind.

If people can sit down and watch a slasher or horror movie without batting an eye, they should consider sitting down and watching a thought-provoking movie that has historical significance and that we can all learn from.

Take a minute today to reflect on the sacrifices people have made for you.