There are none braver than heroes who put on a uniform to protect their country from harm. We put them on a pedestal. We believe they can do no wrong, simply because they put their lives in danger to protect. We see the commercials, smile at our heroes and change the channel, believing that they are the perfection we expect them to be. We are blind, America.

“American Sniper,” which is based on a true story, was released in theaters on Jan. 16. To those who bleed red, white and blue, the movie showcased Bradley Cooper playing an American sniper named Chris Kyle, who was, in a sense, the perfect man for the job. He was a God-fearing man wanting to come home for dinner. He was our Hercules and could do no wrong, right? I’m sure some left the movie theater feeling like they had the best sex in their life. Allow me to be your moment of clarity.

The film encourages the false ideas that Iraqis and Muslims are all evil and that the Iraq war began as a result of 9/11, which are untrue. American Sniper portrays multidimensional Americans while portraying one-dimensional characters as the evil Iraqis. It is propaganda.

The film also depicts a mentality of Kyle’s that is not real. It doesn’t mention that he lied about killing Americans post-hurricane Katrina. It may not seem important to filmmakers, but if you’re trying to depict who Chris Kyle was, it’s slightly more important than you think.

Reactions to “American Sniper” are what I call the “Disney effect.” Disney got it right in the 90s, especially with Hercules. It was like he was perfect, but the Disney version of most famous figures are usually cleaned up. The Disney Hercules is not the same as the original Hercules. The original Hercules, although manipulated to do so, killed his whole family. You can see that the Disney version is more appealing to the audience. It is the same with Chris Kyle.

The movie portrays a man tormented by his experiences overseas, but this torment is not transparent in his book. In his autobiography, Kyle refers to those he fought as “savages.” Excerpts from his book include:

“I only wish I had killed more.”

“I loved what I did … It was fun. I had the time of my life.”

“I don’t shoot people with Qurans – I’d like to, but I don’t.”

“I never once fought for the Iraqis. I couldn’t give a flying f­­— about them.”

Rolling Stone magazine had an excerpt that indicated Kyle was in competition with other snipers on his kill count.

“When one (sniper) began to threaten his ‘legendary’ number, Kyle all of the sudden seemed to have every stinkin’ bad guy in the city running across his scope. As in, wink, wink, his luck suddenly changed when the sniper-race got close, get it?”

Does that sound heroic? He had the time of his life killing other human beings; women and children. He didn’t care about the innocent people over there. You say he was protecting our country, but he’s over there trying to keep his legendary kill count.

The irony is that the film never depicts how Kyle died. He wasn’t killed by “savages.” He was killed by a vet with PTSD. Showing this would showcase the reality that we don’t take care of our vets. If you want to support American Sniper, go ahead. Just make sure that for every homeless veteran on the street, you give him or her $10, too, and don’t be angry at those who try to look at both the clean version and the actual reality, and choose the actual reality.

If you’re going to join the military, I applaud you. You are braver than most, but that doesn’t mean you are excluded from criticism. Appearance should never dictate character: wearing a badge doesn’t make you a good cop; holding a Bible doesn’t mean you’re a Christian; wearing a turban doesn’t make you evil; joining the military doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want because you think it’s in the best interest of the country. Chris Kyle was probably, in many ways, a good person, but he wasn’t a hero.