Last year my brother married for the second time. (For the record, I'm doubtful this one will end up any better than the first one, although it would be pretty hard to beat the first one for sheer malice.) He got three stepkids in the bargain. The oldest boy is in the army and is supposed to be shipped off to Iraq at some point. The girl is the same age as my nephew. She has one more year in school, then plans on joining the navy. They're all gung-ho for the military. My brother still has a Bush sticker on his truck and my nephew seems enamored of the oldest boy's uniform. I've been trying to talk him out of joining the military. At this point, joining the army = putting your life on the line for a bunch of evil, traitorous bastards.

And yes, I am the family black sheep: a liberal atheist war protester. At age 18 I was waving flag and bible as hard as everyone else, but something funny happened along the way. Hell, maybe I'm a Lesbian, too, and just don't know it. That would cap things off nicely, now wouldn't it?

The youngest boy is developmentally delayed. I'm not sure how old he actually is, but he functions at about age six and looks to be no more than seven. I know he's older than that, though. He's a very energetic, sweet kid, but he's definitely developed a "thing" for the military. Not surprising. In better times, I would think nothing of it. I was a tomboy. I played with army men and built them forts. My psychologist friend Tim confesses to shooting them with BB guns. I don't know why that angle didn't occur to me...I mostly shot at cans. We both played (and play) video games...and yes, some are violent. Tim and I both think such play is normal.

I get a little miffed at those who want to carry so-called "non-violence" too far. I have friends in the local peace group, but I'm a black sheep there, too. I tried to attend a series of seminars called "From Violence to Wholeness" and found the whole thing just plain stupid. First of all, it was based on a Christian seminar that tried (and failed) to come across as secular. Secondly, I don't think it matters what movies I watch or what games I play on my computer. Fuck that. I just don't want our country fighting wars for stupid reasons. Is that so much to ask?

You should have seen the other seminar participants go for my throat when I commented I really loved the Lord of the Rings movies. When they started getting all pissy, I added my love of video games into the mix. The ones who didn't know me really got on my case and I left feeling very pissed. The fundies don't like me. The peaceniks don't like me. I don't give a shit. Dogma is for losers.

My friends in the peace group kept pushing the issue and pushing the issue. Finally I told them I would watch the movies I wanted to watch, play the games I wanted to play and that they should shut the fuck up. I don't spend much time with them. I lost interest in the peace group when I realized it was filled with more people who wanted to dictate how I live my private life. It wasn't any different than the fundies.

Still, I'm more or less liberal. Go figure.

I'm pausing to note something:

!!!TANGENT ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Now, where was I? Oh yeah. The youngest kid and his love for the military.

His church, Christian Heights, had some kind of program for kids and the little guy wasn't much interested until he learned it was called "Boot Camp." Now that set off alarm bells for me, maybe because I was thinking about Jesus Camp. I almost want to infiltrate the church, call the pastor, a youth pastor, a deacon or someone and find out exactly what Boot Camp for Jesus entails.

Yeah, that poor little kid is getting indoctrinated. The worst part of my indoctrination was the fundamentalist Christian school I attended, making it impossible for me to hear alternative points of view. Just how bad is this "Boot Camp"?

Would you investigate?