[Intolerant in NJ]

Junger describes himself as a "political liberal" but comes across as thoughtful and balanced and clearly has much empathy and understanding for those in the military. Although he seemingly doesn't recognize it, he is apparently still struggling with reconciling some of his personal views - he is very concerned with the current state of civil discourse such as the "mockery of our president" which he feels weakens the group cohesion and stability of society, but also weakly affirms the rights of people to protest wars they find objectionable, which of course can also weaken national cohesion and sense of purpose. I was going to watch the first few minutes of the program to get a sense of what Junger was about, but found the discussion interesting and challenging, and stayed for the whole three hours. Worth cranking up the DVR to take a look, especially on July 4th.

[DUMBGRUNT]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3438436/posts

PTSD is a complex condition with vexing moral and psychological aspects, but in Mr. Junger’s view it’s mostly about men being depressed because they can’t play war anymore. This odd, juvenile rendering of military life is a problem with much of Mr. Junger’s recent work. He presumes to speak for veterans, but he has never been inside the prison. This makes him, as an Iraq veteran friend of mine put it, “a war tourist.” Mr. Junger is never able to bridge this divide between himself and his subjects, and he ends up leaving his reader stranded.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3438436/posts

He makes some very good points, but Sebastian Junger is not and never was a grunt, or anything close.