Plastic Soldiers

I went to see my favorite kid in Turkey, Aras, a six-year old whose mom just had a baby girl. The first time we met we played games and he taught me Turkish (and I taught him some English) and so now I call him my Turkish teacher and he loves it. (Here's a post about him, if you're curious.)

Anyway, when I was over at his house visiting the family and playing with Aras and his friend, I noticed something small, but interesting. Aras and his school friend were playing with toy soldiers--you know, the green plastic kind that we probably saw or played with as kids. (Full disclosure: I never played with them, but that's because I was obsessed with my Star Wars figurines and Tonka Truck...yeah, I was a tomboy.)

The first thing that surprised me was the fact that the soldiers had an American flag. Then I saw another flag on the ground, broken off of its plastic rock. I didn't recognize it at first--to my embarrassment. Then Aras held it up: IRAQ! He yelled. Of course...it was an Iraqi flag.

You can STILL get America vs. The Commies toy soldiers on Amazon if you can believe it. But for some reason it stunned me that you could buy an America vs. Iraq toy soldier set here in Turkey. It upset me, but mostly because I feel like it's such a metaphor for the new enemy that's replaced Communism for Americans...and that's fundamentalist Islam.

It makes you wonder sometimes...must the U.S. always have an enemy? Is there any other country that could have a toy soldier set like that? These days all you have to do is keep the American soldiers in the bag and change the opposing flag. Our nation always stays poised, its feet mired in plastic, our guns permanently aimed and ready to fire.