For two years, I spent my days reading lawsuits, sifting through briefs and listening to testimony that left me astounded at how differently two people can recall the exact thing. Some people are stunningly facile liars. By their own mind. Coping mechanisms, I guess. The things with which we cope today, most of us who are younger, are wholly different.
People certainly have their own personal crosses.
Death, or the fear of it, doesn't just come with war. But usually it is just us struggling against something else, not against ourselves and the fear of our own capabilities. Bob Kerrey is apparently having a hard time remembering his greatest struggle - perhaps because it was so overwhelming. Many younger folks have a hard time remembering our overwhelming struggles, too - but for a different reason. We haven't really had any.