I begin this essay by noting that I am a citizen of the United States.  With that said, I have also lived in the United Kingdom and mean for this composition to be applicable to the resident of any nation on our tiny planet.  Upon reflection, it truly is impossible to identify even a tiny, tucked away corner of the world that is not now or has not been touched by the ravages of war at some point in time.  Indeed, being touched by the ravages of war, the scourges of combat is vital to a nation's and a person's sense of reality.  In other words, in order for a nation, its leaders and its people to have a sense of identity, they must understand the realities of war.

My own nation presently is involved in two wars, in Afghanistan and in Iraq.  However, if you spent any time walking down the streets of the United States, you would have no indication that people were dying on two fronts involving my own country.  In this day and age, it has become a practice of the governmental officials in the United States and in many other nations around the world to mask the realities of war.  I humbly suggest that if a nation is going to elect to go to battle, that nation must allow its citizens the ability to see and feel completely the realities of war. 

The most stunning change in the policy of the United States government in regard to permitting its citizens to appreciate the gravity of violent conflict is found in the prohibition by the national government of allowing the news media to report on the arrival of coffins carrying our war dead home.  Historically, killed U.S. servicemen and servicewomen were brought home through a place called Dover Air Force Base.  The media routinely reported on the arrival of the deceased soldiers, filming the presentation of flag draped coffins back to American soil.  Filming this event by the media is now prohibited, illegal. 

The U.S. national government is masking the reality of war from its own citizenry.  As has been mentioned, other countries around the globe have followed suit.

In regard to the war in Iraq alone, the so-called coalition forces have lost some 2,000 men and women in battle.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000 Iraqi soldiers have been felled in combat.  Sadly, over 25,000 civilians -- including children -- have been killed during the war in Iraq. 

Because death is the ultimate reality of war, it is vital for all people to witness the killing of battle directly and in unfiltered fashion.  If this is not done, if this is prohibited, people lose touch with the true nature of war.  War becomes easy when it should be, in reality, the most difficult act of civilized people.