5 Days Later

In less than a week, I will wake up same as I always do. I will put my pants on one leg at a time, grab my sunglasses and walk out the door same as I always do. Except today will be different. I will be different. I will stand next to my brother in support of him. Yet, I will do this while my politics and beliefs sit on the side of I-95. On that day, my brother will be a Marine. From that second on, every step he takes is down a path built by an institution I do not support. For one reason and one reason alone. There is no boot camp for veterans. They are not untrained, de-briefed or re-humanized. The old saying, "Only the strong survive" does not speak for the battle fields or the countries overseas. It speaks to the returning veterans thrown back into society with no fighting chance of completely becoming a full-functioning citizen. I will look into the face of my younger brother and only see the possible man I might serve in a soup kitchen years down the line.

Regardless of my politics, I will stand proudly by his side as he accomplishes the first goal he set for himself. I will do this because for the rest of our lives we will differ in our politics, our religions, our lives and our heart aches. We both know this to be true. It took one letter for me to realize all of this. One letter I didn't even have to open before I knew that on the day my brother becomes a Marine, I will stand by his side. He may be a Marine, but he's still my little brother.