I dunno. I know I see the world pretty differently than some, but I think the media loves stuff like this. Sometimes I feel as a society, America is perpetually primed for war. From our toys to our video games to our movies, its in the stories we tell. From sports rivalries to political differences to cultural and generational conflicts, to the way "discussions" often unfold on the internet, its in the way we conduct our lives. We always need a villain, The British, our own brothers, The Axis, The Communists, someone in the middle east, China. We crave conflict, to comedic effects. War on Christmas? Parse those words and the whole thing is utterly ridiculous, but here we are, where people take such ideas seriously. It's surreal.

Does anyone in America, not directly involved with the military, really understand and appreciate what happens in a war? Yeah, we see photos and videos and hear stories and can sympathize, but it's always something that happens anywhere but "here." And somehow, collectively, we always seem to be okay with it, or at the very least, expected to behave as if we are. We're expected to believe our souls weigh more than someone else's, as if our peace is worth their strife, and speak and act accordingly.

The media? Liberal or conservative? Warhawks or pacifists? Even if they don't get the war, they'll get a war as we once again argue over the details, the philosophies, hanging on every news clip, forwarding every tweet, generating so many page views.

We lose sight of so much, because we keep looking at the wrong things, because that's what they want, whoever "they" might be, and I'm afraid, deep down, that's often what we want, no matter who "we" are. Because at the end of the day, finding a way to validate our anger and finding someone to direct it against is easier than realizing our souls are weightless and yet the most substantial thing we'll ever carry, and it's easier to let our souls sink as individuals than it is to hold them aloft in collective humanity.

I've never even been in one and I'm just so, so, so tired at even the thought of war. I don't know why we constantly want to do this to ourselves and it drives me crazy.

It's not that simple.

If he's "General" Soleimani then killing him is an act of war. Under the War Powers Act of 1970 Congress had to authorize that killing. If he's Qssem Soleimani then he's a terrorist and killing him is within the authorization of the use of force of 2002.

There's wiggle room under both of those hypotheses but the real question is "should I feel mad about this" and every news organization is trying on different cloaks to see what sticks. You also have to keep in mind that every public figure every news organization interviews is also trying on the different cloaks so you've basically got a second order scatter plot that will eventually congeal into a couple-few different opinions at which point all thinking will be over. Arguing that now is the time to decide who to listen to is premature.