An Individual Human Being Trying to Act Ethically in a Difficult Position
Three hundred humans encircled two boys with fists raised. High school kids all, just kids—but in two years ten of them would be in bits in a foreign land. Five more would leave limbs in the jungle to fertilize future ferns. Davie—who would refuse the draft to die in a prison cell and be unceremoniously buried four years from this incident—parted the crowd with daisies, splitting the pugilists for a moment as he tried to press a flower in each of their clenched hands. They turned their fists on him and the crowd cheer louder.
by C. Massar
C. Massar is the author of two science fiction books and knows a thing or two about installing windows. He lives outside of Topeka with three cats and the mule Ted.
On Writing Prompts
I enjoy the freedom of writing prompts. Sometimes they’re very constrictive and I’m not as interested in those, but having just a couple things to guide you is a pleasant way into a new piece.
This piece was sparked by the 2020 Writing Exercise Series #311: Erasing Roger Ebert 14 “The Green Berets” which was to title the piece with a short selection from the Roger Ebert review of the John Wayne movie The Green Berets.
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