In war, you expect men to die and often so in horrifically violent ways. It is unpleasant, to say the least, but it is the reality of conflict and there is an honor to it. It matters not whether death finds you committing an act of heroism or in a ditch hiding from falling shells; the act of having lived for something greater than one’s self is noble. This is not to run cover for malevolent governments or causes, which should be opposed, but the integrity of the act of sacrifice extends even to the unfortunate grunts put into such positions, too. Amid all the carnage of the world today, recognition of this remaining martial honor provides some comfort when considering all the fallen.

With that said, there is never any defense to be had in the slaughter of the innocent and defenseless. These gunmen were cowards and their acts were evil. The cruelty inherent is astounding and, on a personal level, reading of a young girl being left dead in a ditch cradling her slain baby is something that leaves me deeply unsettled. I wish nothing but suffering on the so called “men” who did this act.

However, the unfortunate reality is that the guilty extend much further than the gunmen; complicit in this horror is the U.S. Federal Government. For the cost of the Humanitarian and Financial assistance alone provided to Ukraine so far, American authorities could have secured their border and ensured the proliferation of Cartel influence is definitively halted. Not only would this protect their own citizens against the tragic acts described above, it would also benefit their neighbors, most obviously Mexico, by curtailing the capabilities of the Cartels who deal so much death and destruction in both countries.

That the leadership of the United States chooses otherwise, to ignore the plight of its own populace for geopolitical games elsewhere, should be a wake up call for all Americans. I hope they are all listening…