Do you remember the picture? It’s a young Marine on duty in Iraq in 2004. Wearing camouflage, his eyes and cheeks smudged with protective coloring, he’s squinting into the distance. A long scratch runs down the length of his nose, a half-burned cigarette dangles from his chapped lips.

The photo was taken by an Associated Press photographer and printed in the Sun Journal in November 2004. I kept the photo because, to me, it is a spectacular reminder of what war does to our young men. From the date, I imagine it was printed as part of Veterans Day news.

I am tired of our national fixation on glorifying war. The picture tells the truth: war dehumanizes us all: young, old, families, and especially children. It’s time to start settling our disputes another way.

Let’s thing about that when we elect candidates this year. It’s time to get that right.

Sarah Andersen, Lewiston