Happiness is a choice. Offense is a choice. If we are happy, it is because we largely chose to be so. Granted, there are certain conditions that make that choice more difficult. But, offense is a choice as well. If we are offended, it is because we CHOOSE to be offended. Having survived a few near death events in combat, I took on a whole new meaning to life: I simply don’t care what most people think about me. It’s a freedom that can’t be explained. I don’t get offended by virtually anything. Call my momma what you want, I don’t care. It doesn’t hurt me. I know and love my momma! Call me a coward and I don’t care. I’m not Marty McFly who flies off the handle at such a thing.

It’s with that in mind that I think people need to get over their “offense” at a Call of Duty: Black Ops Commercial featuring Kobe Bryant and other celebrities.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is refusing to stock this game because it gives players an opportunity to play as either American Soldiers or the Taliban. Oh my gosh! We can’t have kids pretending to kill American Soldiers as Muslim extremists!! Remember Grand Theft Auto? Everyone was up in arms because it was going to encourage kids to go out and start murdering everyone on the streets, run over their neighbors, and take out cops! Our country was in peril and the only way to stop it was to end the production of one of the most successful series of games on the market. It just didn’t happen.

Call of Duty is not going to cause kids or adults to decide it’s a good idea to shoot American troops. People that feel offended by this game should get over themselves. You choose to be offended. Just don’t buy the game if you don’t like it. Make the conscious decision NOT to be offended and let people have their fun in their living and bedrooms, especially if you have NO idea what it’s like to even be a Soldier:

We, as Soldiers, are no better than anyone else. We just decided upon a profession of arms to protect and defend the Constitution that less than 1% of the population has decided upon. Is it poor taste to create a game that allows players to shoot American Soldiers? Maybe. But, if that’s what I think, I just won’t give the creators my hard earned money. As for the commercial, I think it’s a brilliant marketing strategy.