Eddie Black

I grew up in Arkansas and Mississippi and joined the Marines in 89. I got out and started college, moved to another state and got back into college. I then felt a call... more

I grew up in Arkansas and Mississippi and joined the Marines in 89. I got out and started college, moved to another state and got back into college. I then felt a call of a deeper life and I dropped out of college, gave away most of my stuff to a shelter, and moved to anywhere Oregon. Later I got back into college. Then I dropped out of college to go to Iraq. Then I came back and moved to another college. 14 years, 4 universities, and 3 states, and 1 war later I am one class away from getting my B.S. in Psychology. I've done pretty much everything. I am not interested in working for a living, though most of my jobs along the way have been just that... work. I am living, learning, and 'following my bliss'. I've deepened so much since that 18 year old kid who joined the Marines. I've seen a lot, done a lot, experienced a lot. As I finish my degree I hope to bring my breadth of experience and depth of insight into helping heal fellow veterans. I see there are a few ways of doing so. First, address the social needs of the vets. Second, change the symbols of the warrior to include more healthy and well rounded themes. It is 2008 and it is high time we address issues of what is and is not masculine in this country, what counts as 'weakness' and what doesn't. And third, take psychology out to the vets in a means and way that is not offensive and makes sense. If the message isn't reaching people's ears perhaps it is the message and not the people. I also anticipate graduating so that I might also have more time to write. I have ideas for stories in my mind that are important to me dealing with issues that we, as a country, should have a discourse about. From gender equality to environmental philosophy to just war theory... If I believe something is unjust I will usually try to stand against it. I swear eternal hostility to the tyrranies over the minds of men. People that are against socialism as though it were some sort of evil are not paying attention to the world around them. It is deeper, and simpler, than the yapping people on the radio talk show. They have somehow got people to think that profit is more important than justice, that the power of the people is better served and guided by corporations instead of the political power of the people through representation (in other words, the government).