“American Sniper”, A Gritty, But Vivid Portrayal Of One Man’s War

It’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of guns, violence, or war. In fact, I’m glad that I didn’t grow up during the draft years because I stand for peaceful resolutions to conflict and not bloodshed. Maybe that’s why I became so disturbed and unsettled while I watched “American Sniper”, which was a movie about the deadliest sniper in U.S. History.

The film itself is about the life of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) who served four tours in the Iraq War, was awarded many commendations for his heroism, and who accumulated 160 confirmed kills (with at least 95 more that were rumored) during his years of military service. Nicknamed “Legend” by his fellow soldiers, Kyle was considered just that because of his accuracy in shooting, one of which being from a very long range away at 2,100 yards. Because of his talent as a sniper, the Iraq insurgents even had a bounty placed on his head that was purported to have been near six figures. While some of the movie’s alarming events were fictitious, like most Hollywood movies tend to be, much of what was portrayed in it was actually quite accurate. Having viewed the film in Cinemark XD, I often felt myself becoming submersed in the throngs of Kyle’s inner world. From the difficult decisions he had to make alone about who to kill and who not to kill, to the burden of having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) upon returning home to his wife and children, I found “American Sniper” to be extremely unsettling, even more so when I learned that Kyle was killed by a fellow retired solider with PTSD whom he was only trying to help.

While I can see why this patriotic movie is doing exceedingly well at the box office (over $90 million in its opening weekend of wide release), it’s still a bleak reminder to me that war doesn’t create peace on any level. Each person that’s killed during a war only seems to bring forth more in retaliation and further bloodshed. And then there’s the war within that people like Chris Kyle face when they return home, that of having PTSD. I’m a firm believer that this condition is solely due to the soul suffering from what one’s eyes have seen and maybe even done during the act of war.

Interestingly enough, as I reflected on all of this the other night over dinner with my partner after seeing the movie, I found myself being overly irritable and angry. What I realized was that my own soul was suffering from watching the film, both for the tragic loss of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle and for all the other deaths that have been the direct or indirect result of a war. “American Sniper” truly was a gritty, but vivid portrayal of a war that was fought both oversees, as well as within one soldier whose name was Chris Kyle…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Author: Andrew Arthur Dawson

A teacher of meditation, a motivational speaker, a reader of numerology, and a writer by trade, Andrew Arthur Dawson is a spiritual man devoted to serving his Higher Power and bringing a lot more light and love into this world. This blog, www.thetwelfthstep.com is just one of those ways...

Your comments would be great! (NOTE: Please reload this page before entering any to prevent a session timeout.)