Written by Zach Grossfeld

On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, I listened to Dakota Meyer describe taking a man’s life. Here are my thoughts:

On a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, Dakota Meyer, a Marine Corps sniper, entered territory under enemy fire after he learned that four members of his squad were missing.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Meyer “personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded and provided cover for another 24 marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe.”

On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast, Dakota Meyer recounts the moment where he bashed the head in of an enemy soldier with a baseball-sized rock.

“If I can find a way to relate to him in that moment, a man who’s life I’m taking, we all in America can find a way to connect to each other. If we don’t find a way to connect with each other it’s because we choose not to."

In the heat of the moment, for a millisecond, Meyer felt the humanity of the person he had beaten to death to save himself.

Two soldiers entered a scuffle, born in two different countries.

Two soldiers believed wholeheartedly in two separate missions.

Both soldiers would die to protect their country and preserve the mission.

Two soldiers, with mothers, fathers, siblings, and wives found themselves in a fight to the death. Meyer prevailed.

Even though Meyer has every excuse to dehumanize the enemy, he openly acknowledges that the other soldier, whose life he just ended, was not much different than his own. At the epitome of violence and self-preservation, Meyer sensed a man fighting for a cause who wanted to return home to his wife and kids.

Now, I have zero experience in the armed forces.

I hold immense respect for the men and women who lay down their lives to protect America.

Because of their sacrifices to keep evil on the other side of the globe, I can sit safely in a Brooklyn coffee shop and write this article. Without people like Meyer, America would look much different.

As a civilian, I respect Meyer for walking us through what I imagine is the most godforsaken moment of his life. Not many are willing to talk about what he did on this podcast. Hearing the unfiltered perspective of taking a life gives weight to the unfamiliar. I’m lucky because I can pretend these things don’t happen. I never see it. I read about it, and in the media, bodies become numbers.

The above quote from Meyer, If we don’t find a way to connect to each other it’s because we choose not to, hits hard.

His words made me think about the times where I've built walls between myself and other human beings.

Thoughts run through my head like:

Nobody else knows what I’m going through

I’m the only one with this problem

We have nothing in common.

If Dakota Meyer can look into the eyes of a man whose life he is taking and still feel for him, then what excuse do I have?

I don’t put my life on the line regularly.

I’m not fighting bare-knuckle to death.

I’m not sweating and bleeding in a desert in enemy territory.

For me, most altercations occur through spoken word and social media.

I’m lucky.

I’m thankful for the men and women like Dakota who not only grapple with the enemy but can recognize humanity on the other side of the line. Even when someone needs to die, consequences still exist.

Not a day will go by when Dakota doesn't see that man's face.

Not a day will pass when that man's family doesn't think about who they lost.

Now, some people can not and should not be humanized. Some folks are pieces of shit, evil beings who don’t deserve our empathy.

Dakota must face those people as well.

But for the most part, we all want the same things for ourselves, our friends, and our families. We may fight for different causes in different countries, but the similarity in motivation persists.

Thank you, Dakota, for keeping this country safe. Thank you for your insight.

And thank you, Joe Rogan, for providing a platform for conversations like this that need to exist.