My thoughts on the troops
My mother raised me a liberal. A hippie wannabe. I had to un-brainwash myself just to get to the point where I didn't see "the troops" as traitors to an American ideal.
Now I'm a moderate (a Democrat, but a moderate). And I'm staunchly anti-war. I believe that war is ALWAYS bad. But sometimes it's better than the alternative.
And if there are times where war is necessary, it is always necessary to have a military.
Now that I'm an adult in my own right, I believe that the greatest service that one can give to his or her country is to sacrafice their lives for the defense of their nation. No matter how much I may disagree with any particular war, any particular administration, or any particular foreign military policy, I have the UTMOST RESPECT for the lowest common denomenator that takes that chance on dying to defend my country. To me that means that no matter whether or not he's a dumb ass with an 80 IQ, who is incapable of understanding the difference between "red state" and "blue state", who believes that if you don't like the policies of the US government that you should "love it or leave it", and who calls people of the Middle East "Sand (insert racial epithet here)", he has STILL committed himself to a greater personal and moral sacrifice than I have.
As a nation, I believe that the greatest measure of our moral value is what we do to protect those who are incapable of protecting themselves. After the children, I believe that our GREATEST MORAL RESPONSIBILITY is to take care of those who have sacrificed themselves for the good of the nation. There are so many who have lost limbs, lives, or their sanity in service to the protection of our country. They deserve to be taken care of in a way that HONORS them, for as long as they need us.
On Pen and Sword, Jeff Huber records a chlling account of our Congress' tribute to our veterans, under his post "Happy Veteran's Day". Read it, and be disturbed.
I want to say I'm sorry to all of the veterans out there. I'm sorry because only a small segment of our culture really understands and appreciates what it means to be a vet. I'm sorry because, as a vet, it looks like you have a high likelihood of suffering from something horrible directly caused by your service to our country, and it looks like you're going to suffer because of your sacrifice. I'm sorry because you deserve more.
I can hate the policies of the current administration or the Clinton administration or the Bush I or Reagan or Carter administrations, but I have the utmost respect for a Marine who is willing to die so that I can eat a cheeseburger and criticize why he died in the peace and comfort that our armed services afford us through their sacrifice.
Happy birthday, USMC.
Now I'm a moderate (a Democrat, but a moderate). And I'm staunchly anti-war. I believe that war is ALWAYS bad. But sometimes it's better than the alternative.
And if there are times where war is necessary, it is always necessary to have a military.
Now that I'm an adult in my own right, I believe that the greatest service that one can give to his or her country is to sacrafice their lives for the defense of their nation. No matter how much I may disagree with any particular war, any particular administration, or any particular foreign military policy, I have the UTMOST RESPECT for the lowest common denomenator that takes that chance on dying to defend my country. To me that means that no matter whether or not he's a dumb ass with an 80 IQ, who is incapable of understanding the difference between "red state" and "blue state", who believes that if you don't like the policies of the US government that you should "love it or leave it", and who calls people of the Middle East "Sand (insert racial epithet here)", he has STILL committed himself to a greater personal and moral sacrifice than I have.
As a nation, I believe that the greatest measure of our moral value is what we do to protect those who are incapable of protecting themselves. After the children, I believe that our GREATEST MORAL RESPONSIBILITY is to take care of those who have sacrificed themselves for the good of the nation. There are so many who have lost limbs, lives, or their sanity in service to the protection of our country. They deserve to be taken care of in a way that HONORS them, for as long as they need us.
On Pen and Sword, Jeff Huber records a chlling account of our Congress' tribute to our veterans, under his post "Happy Veteran's Day". Read it, and be disturbed.
I want to say I'm sorry to all of the veterans out there. I'm sorry because only a small segment of our culture really understands and appreciates what it means to be a vet. I'm sorry because, as a vet, it looks like you have a high likelihood of suffering from something horrible directly caused by your service to our country, and it looks like you're going to suffer because of your sacrifice. I'm sorry because you deserve more.
I can hate the policies of the current administration or the Clinton administration or the Bush I or Reagan or Carter administrations, but I have the utmost respect for a Marine who is willing to die so that I can eat a cheeseburger and criticize why he died in the peace and comfort that our armed services afford us through their sacrifice.
Happy birthday, USMC.
posted by sadiq at 11/11/2005 12:07:00 AM
1 Comments:
On behalf of a family full of soldiers and veterans I thank you. People too often forget the sacrifice that these brave souls make. I am anti-war but never anti-soldier. The fact that I can go around making fun of Bush is a debt I owe to them.
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