Flash Fiction #114 (Exactly 114 Words): Keep the Troops Motivated

Another wildlife-related incongruous illustration.

“Wanna know why we lost in Afghanistan?  We didn’t bang enough hookers.  If we banged any.  I don’t think they even have hookers there.  When you invade a country, you gotta keep the troops motivated.”

“What about Vietnam?  I saw Full Metal Jacket; we banged plenty of their hookers, yet we still lost.”

“Not really.  According to Noam Chomsky—”

“Who’s he?  A pimp?”

“No, a political writer.  He said we actually won in Vietnam, ’cause we made it an example.  Fuck around and find out.  That philosophy kept us in charge around the world, long as we had hookers.  But now—I doubt Afghanistan’ll ever get a Starbucks or even a Taco Bell.”

Copyright © 2021 by David V. Matthews

September 12-13. 2021

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Author: David V. Matthews

David V. Matthews is the author of the short-story collections MELTDOWN IN THE CEREAL AISLE (2015), TURHAN BEY FAN CLUB (2022), and THE MAKING OF INDECENT BETRAYAL: TWO VERSIONS (2024). He lives in Pittsburgh.

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