This week has been filled with tributes to men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty and some at the hands of psychopaths. The tragic events that took place at Fort Hood occurred in a chillingly timely fashion with Veteran’s Day and execution of the D.C. sniper.

It’s often never an uplifting subject when events occur that cause for loss of life, but I find that there is a close connection between our worst fears, and our favorite pastimes. As a society we dance fine line in the mortification and celebration of disastrous occasion.

For example:

D.C. Sniper= Terrible.

Sniper starring Mark Wahlberg = Awesome.

That movie was great, and it made me want to get a rifle and sign up for special forces. But the excitement died down after a couple of days as I returned to my personal fox hole.

Which is a messy desk with a laptop on deadline day.

Veteran’s Day celebrates those who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty for our country. I think it’s safe to say that if it had not been for brave sacrifices of these men and women, that we would not share many of the liberties that we share to this day.

The closest I’ve been to active service is at home playing Call of Duty 2 on my Xbox 360. I get in my tanks with my semi-automatic rifles and I kill every German solider I see. I see my comrades gunned down by advancing troops in our campaign for freedom, and all I can think about is vengeance against my oppressors. And if I am gunned down in my valiant march on the enemy? I just load my last saved checkpoint from my hardrive.

But when I think even further about it, I probably wouldn’t have been allowed to avenge much of anything depending on the year. In all likelihood I would have been in the kitchen slicing potatoes and mopping floors because of my ethnicity. I could have had my chance at Pearl Harbor like when Cuba Gooding Jr. portrayed Petty Officer Doris “Dorie” Miller.

But, I don’t think they make a video game for that.

Across the nation children are fighting the Japanese in flight simulators, while a solider dies in the sands of the middle east. Beating the games high score is great. Make sure to save it to the memory card, and talk jive to everyone on your Xbox live headset. Soldiers dying is not great. Make sure you pray for their families, send flowers, and have a candlelight vigil.

I suppose the older the events depicted in games and film, the less sensitive we are to it’s reality.

I don’t recall any Spartans being outraged when 300 came out. I just remember wanting to do push ups and to punch something hard. But that battle took place long before sniper rifles, A-Bombs and black presidents. No one remembers.

Perhaps entertainment is best when it draws on realities. Humanity portrayed with the right director can provoke laughter and tears. But it can’t prepare us for the news flashes on CNN. I’m certain no amount of riveting cinema prepared the families of the Fort Hood Victims for the phone calls they received.

I’m an ace on the scoreboards, but I’ve never fired a gun in my life. I’ve got soul, but I’m not a solider.

Dedicated to the Veterans, and Victims of Fort Hood.