There are no fallen soldiers.

Today is Memorial Day, and like every Memorial Day, there is a great deal of jingoism and flag waving and celebrating the sacrifices of our armed forces. There is no doubt that our armed forces deserve to be honored. After all they are the ones who placed themselves in harm's way to protect us so we can completely pretend that they don't go through hell to do so. But what annoys me is hearing the offensive euphemism for their sacrifice. They are not "fallen" soldiers. They are dead soldiers. They had their lives ended while they were very young because so many of our politicians are warmongers and armchair warriors. Those who are not dead are often crippled or blind or mentally disturbed while the cowardly Congressmen who created the wars are in great shape, have tons of money and lead highly enviable lives. Because of this, I think Memorial Day is rather an obnoxious holiday