It's intense

The following entry contains language some readers might find objectionable. Discretion is advised. Please note that I am including the language because warnings such as these should be sufficient for adults, and I don't need a government agency telling me whether the expression of my viewpoints is objectionable.

In Iraq, the next car you pass on the street could be the last car you pass on the street. The next stretch of highway you travel could blow up right in front of you. The building to your left could hold a sniper. You just don't know.

You live every day in fear, but you live every day --- getting up, doing your military duty, and hoping you make it to the next morning, when you can start the whole process over again. And sometimes you get shot at. Sometimes grenades come your way. Sometimes cars blow up.

It's not unreasonable, when that happens to react to it. To leap back, to take cover, to return fire, or to swear. Soldiers in combat say many things, among them: Fuck. Shit. Dammit. Goddammit.

I learned a lot from a PBS Frontline special aired tonight that followed a unit of soldiers for one month in south Baghdad. During the trip, one soldier was killed. Those same soldiers who swear so much also cry, as it turns out.

PBS warned some of its affiliates that airing the show uncensored could lead to punitive action from the Federal Communications Commission. Does that mean the FCC is really thinking about doing something? No. Does that mean the FCC will do something? No. But I find it alarming that there's a contingency of people out there who are worried that the truthful portrayal of war could be considered "indecent" or "obscene."

These men are men, but also boys, younger than me in some instances -- the kids who I would've looked out for in the hallway when we were in high school. They're being shot at. They're being blown up. They are dying, and people are worried that they have dirty mouths.

Tonight I and anyone else who was watching got a glimpse inside the combat zone, a serious reality check and a much-needed reminder that regardless of views on foreign policy, the American Soldier -- in Iraq and around the world -- is now and always will be a hero of the highest order.