Recently, there’s been a national debate on whether or not the US Army and White House have conspired to make Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman into war heroes, simply to give the American public something to cheer about over in the middle east.

People will say it’s wrong to change or stretch facts to give America hope in a time of war, but what people seem to forget, is that this has been standard practice from the beginning of not only US history, but World history. It’s a necessity in order to settle the minds of normal people who would otherwise have a difficult time accepting the truth of death, pain, suffering, and periodic defeats in a war. It’s normal.

We’re not programmed to accept death as a consequence… death as a sacrifice for a greater good. Especially when that greater good may not be seen for several years.

From the Egyptians and Romans to the young men involved in raising the flag at Iwo Jima, leaders of war have given us heroes to signify hope and promise of victory. If those heroes are scrutinized every time they’re brought forward, our nation stands to see a collapse in power and respect. If the true images of war are shown instead, the average American will never have the ability to justify it, and will continue to argue against it.

Whether or not the war we’re involved in right now is “right” or not, our leaders should have the ability to show us the good, to create their own vision to show to us, so that we may better understand and appreciate the greater goals, and have the ability to refocus on the greater good.