At War with Dr. Phil

Fight Club was probably one of the most influential movies I've ever seen. Unlike superiorly crafted films like the Lord of the Rings or Shawshank, Fight Club completely changed the way I see society...particularly men and their new role as consumers instead of as protectors and providers.

I ran across this quote from Chaplain Major John Morris, who has been an Army Chaplain since 1984.

We're in the "Dr. Phil" culture. Here's an ironic observation on this war in Afghanistan, Iraq…it's our culture today. We like to delve into people's personal lives and pain. That has a peculiar spiritual effect on combat veterans as well, because heroism doesn't seem to be as valued in our culture, but having personal pain and trauma gets you notoriety. That's a real twist that's hard for people to come to grips with.

And the military, you know, heroism's a sacrament. It's a virtue. It's something unbelievable to see somebody exhibit, and we honor it highly, and so what it tends to do is it alienates us even further. We're part of a subculture in America that values things the general culture doesn't seem to be as interested in. And that puzzles us, and so it creates again that sense of alienation, that "Hey, where I was really most vital and alive was when I was with my combat buddies, and we were executing our mission. When I come back here, people want to treat me like a victim." "There must be something wrong with you, because you went to combat."