Childhood fears come to life.

I'll never say this publicly - and by that, I mean in a forum that shows my real name... but right now, I am stressed out as FUCK and terrified at what's happening in the world.

I know that the likelihood of this whole thing popping-off and causing some sort of WWIII type of calamity is very slim... but I cannot escape it. It has been giving me nightmares about my deployments to Iraq. I've woken up covered in sweat several nights in a row now, escaping the crushing dreams of being sent out again to fight...

I have seen war first-hand. And that was awful - BTW happy birthday to my PTSD. It's old enough to buy porn and lottery tickets now - but the thought of a global event with more than the U.S. vs some small third-world is fucking horrifying.

You thought the TP shortage of 2020 was bad? Wait until you can't get fruit, cheese, beef, or other shit because of whatever reason might've come up.

Most people - in the U.S. have no idea what war is. They've got a glorified IDEA of what it is based on movies where they think they're the hero and the hero lives.

Well - here's the news, folks - everyone can die. You. Your mom. Your sister. Your brother. Your dog. Your neighbor... 

Death doesn't respect you. Death doesn't give a FUCK about you. It'll come up and snatch the breath out of your throat and not think twice.

I've watched young people and old die. They're just going about their business one minute - and then they're a fucking lifeless corpse at your feet the next. You watch as the lights fade from their eyes in just a few seconds... 

I've watched people filter ditch-water to make tea for their invaders in hopes of preventing an "accidental" fucking bombardment of their house... 

I've watched as neighbors turn on one another for food, water, or anything to make their lives during the living Hell just slightly more bearable...

And if shit in Ukraine spills into Poland, NATO will get involved. USSR vs NATO is the nightmare scenario I grew up with. Movies about U.S. spies and Russian spies... secret bombs and planes. Barely escaping WWIII every time... 

Remember the Bay Of Pigs? Look it up. Remember movies about thermonuclear war? They were all the rage in the 80s and 90s.

All of that shit was based on legitimate fear of an enemy who didn't care about human life... An enemy who would rather be feared and dead... 

Right now, things are playing out very similar to the plot of The Sum Of All Fears by Tom Clancy... but let's hope that similarity ends soon. Very soon... 

Most of you younger people have grown up in a world where we had Russia as an ally... and the enemy at large were people in caves who hated western life. Russia hates western life too. And they were our enemy and the boogeyman in countless movies, books, stories, and real life scenarios... for a fucking reason.