And so on, so it goes.

"It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before” -Unknown

Chapter 2 of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is based upon Billy Pilgrim. A narrator retells Billy's life since he was born until the current day. Billy fought during WWII as a naive, young and unexperienced soldier accompanied by Weary, and then became an optometrist. Billy then writes about how he was kidnapped by a flying saucer, a UFO, and taken to another planet, Tralfmadore. The planet was inhabited by creatures who thought differently about death, time and life. As a person dies he really is never gone, he only appears to die. He exists in the past, in the which he was healthy and strong, it's a memory that will never disappear, it will always remain.  Moments are permanent, and no one can take away the past. 

This is a different way of viewing the death of a loved one, it makes it less tragic. In its way it's true, a dead person may not be in the present nor the future, but it will forever remain in the past. It teaches us a different perspective of viewing death, which occurs very continuously through the lapse of a war.  Although not really relevant to the topic of war, these aliens can teach us of different ways to understand life and death. Helping us overcome our grief and melancholy of having lost a loved one. Billy's daughter Barbara, reacts rather negatively towards her father anecdotes. He is rejected by her and called a liar, by which a plane crash he had when younger affected him mentally. 
     
This makes think of a situation I saw in a movie, article or a book when I was smaller, although completely irrelevant it made that person feel unsupported and rejected. I don't remember exactly what was the accusation, but the main character was charged for a crime he didn't commit, however he was innocent and that something that none believed. They never believed his innocence until he was proved free of charges and was let go. He was ostracized by society and didn't receive support from his close friends nor family when he most needed it. They thought it was bizarre to believe him, as they where completely sure he had committed that crime. They weren't there when he most needed them. What class of people are they? Are they true friend? Even if they don't share the same opinions and thoughts they could support their friend. I ask myself the same thing regarding Barbara's reaction to his father's stories. They may be a lie, or they may be true, but at least he is doing something that he enjoys.