Life after door kicking.

Author: lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Free Speech Isn’t Conditional

    Free speech is a cornerstone of Western society. Not the comfortable kind. Not the kind that only protects opinions we agree with. The real version—the one that protects speech we don’t like.Especially that kind.Recently, a situation popped up where a comedian did what comedians have always done—he parodied someone. It wasn’t flattering. It wasn’t polite.…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Life’s a garden gotta dig it, and weed it, and fertilize…

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    Life has a way of filling idle moments with noise—regrets, imagined slights, and endless loops of “what if.” I’ve learned that letting the mind wander unchecked is like leaving soil untended: weeds take over, choking the space meant for growth. Energy, if not directed, becomes mischief in the mind. That’s why I’ve chosen to put…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • It wasn’t bad enough so I let it get so much worse

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    This is the post I didn’t want to write.What makes it worse is that none of this is new to me.I wrote about this years ago. It was actually the first thing I ever wrote, even if it wasn’t the first thing I posted. I talked about the panic attacks, the hyper vigilance, the feeling…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Death to mYseLF?

    Scrolling through social media lately has been a little mind-blowing. A large swath of Americans seem to have completely lost their confidence in their own nation. I’m seeing posts openly rooting for the Iranian military—what’s left of it—against the United States. People celebrating Iranian strikes on U.S. sites. People cheering retaliation. The usual anti-American leadership…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Rage by a Thousand Cuts — A First-Person Stoic Reflection

    This morning wasn’t destroyed by one big thing.It was wrecked by a thousand tiny irritants — a soggy dish towel left in the sink, my son taking the last two bananas probably to smoke out of, chores undone even after I gave extra money, him dragging his feet and making everyone late, my wife getting…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Learning to rebel against yourself.

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    When I was young, Tupac felt like the deepest philosopher alive. He shaped the way I saw injustice and what we owe each other. Back then, I honestly believed the purpose of government was simple: help the people who can’t help themselves. Universal healthcare? Seemed like a no-brainer.Housing the homeless? I still think that one…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Two Wars, One Generation: Why Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans Deserve Proper Recognition

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    For more than twenty years, American service members fought across two completely different battlefields: Afghanistan and Iraq. A lot of us — myself included — served in both. But the way our awards are structured, you’d think those deployments were all part of one single conflict. Anyone who actually fought in them knows that’s not…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • From Duty to Dad: Navigating Fatherhood After War

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    I never really knew my dad.If you added up all the time I spent with him, it wouldn’t make six months. The first time I saw him, I was around eight, and I don’t remember doing much with him. The next time was as a preteen, and that round didn’t do me any favors —…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • A Different Assignment – A Different Fate

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    Today marks a day I can never forget. Twenty three years ago, the squad I was in before we deployed, hit an AT mine. I was moved to weapons squad as soon as I got in country. I’ve carried the weight of that randomness, the loss of my team, and the disillusionment that followed. I…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking

  • Enriching Your Conqueror : The Cost of Confusing Ideology for Strategy

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    If Russia is the existential threat European leaders claim it is, then their behavior makes no sense. For over a decade they’ve warned of Russian aggression while funding it through energy dependence, under investing in their own defense, and redirecting moral outrage toward the one alliance that actually deters Moscow. This isn’t about ideology or…

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    lifeafterdoorkicking