If you have one of those stupid ribbons
(or are a republican) I'm about to piss you off. So you can just leave now.
Anyway, what is up with all the stupid ribbons on everyone’s stupid car?
The thing that gets me about these dumb ribbons is that they are all magnetic!
You don't even have to commit to "Support our troops." Whatever the hell that means.
You aren't standing next to them in their fighting positions. You aren't sending them body armor. YOU AREN'T EVEN TRYING TO BRING THEM HOME!
Ask any kid out in the sandbox what they think of this stupid invasion/occupation and they will tell you a sad story about how they are completely disenchanted by what we pass off as democracy. They will tell you about how they were, at one time patriotic and loyal to their nation. Now, they do what they are told, because that is what they signed up to do. They all are loyal to their service, their families, their battle buddies and even to their country- because they know that she will ultimately transform into the just and democratic land they have been promised all their lives.
They demonstrate this faith in America through their sense of duty. Many of them have wives and children.
All of them have loved ones who fear for their well-being.
They want nothing more than to return to their families, but their sense of duty keeps them out in the sandbox with their Kevlar tightly fastened. Trigger fingers itch with each approaching civilian -man, woman or child- who just may be the last face they see before they are blown to oblivion. Their sense of duty is what makes them show up for formation each day before being sent out on patrol.
Respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage- these Army values, printed on small laminated cards, may be tucked away in a soldier's wallet, next to the picture of her husband, tacked up in a wall locker, or in the trash. Even so, each soldier has internalized each of these values. We hear about it every day, in everything they do, in a war that many of them do not believe in, for a leader who has used them up like toilet paper, each soldier still carries with them their values, worth more than our own values will ever be, because of their sacrifice.
Don’t commend them for “protecting our country”. They all know what they are protecting. If America were ever truly in danger, each soldier, marine, sailor or airman would gladly give their lives to protect her. They all know that America is not in danger now, just as she was not in danger in the sixties.
Terrorism? Ah yes, terrorism. Threaten immanent danger at the hands of terrorists and get America to rally behind any invasion against any sovereign nation. Especially if you can convince everyone that they have “nuke-u-lar” weapons (shhh, don’t mention the billions of dollars of oil at stake).
(By the way, does that mean that we are going to go invade North Korea now? I suppose I’ll save that for another entry.)
So if you truly support our troops, help them to get home.
Your magnet only says to them that you support the reason they are there. It is little more than a limp-wristed slap in the face to them.
Anyway, what is up with all the stupid ribbons on everyone’s stupid car?
The thing that gets me about these dumb ribbons is that they are all magnetic!
You don't even have to commit to "Support our troops." Whatever the hell that means.
You aren't standing next to them in their fighting positions. You aren't sending them body armor. YOU AREN'T EVEN TRYING TO BRING THEM HOME!
Ask any kid out in the sandbox what they think of this stupid invasion/occupation and they will tell you a sad story about how they are completely disenchanted by what we pass off as democracy. They will tell you about how they were, at one time patriotic and loyal to their nation. Now, they do what they are told, because that is what they signed up to do. They all are loyal to their service, their families, their battle buddies and even to their country- because they know that she will ultimately transform into the just and democratic land they have been promised all their lives.
They demonstrate this faith in America through their sense of duty. Many of them have wives and children.
All of them have loved ones who fear for their well-being.
They want nothing more than to return to their families, but their sense of duty keeps them out in the sandbox with their Kevlar tightly fastened. Trigger fingers itch with each approaching civilian -man, woman or child- who just may be the last face they see before they are blown to oblivion. Their sense of duty is what makes them show up for formation each day before being sent out on patrol.
Respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage- these Army values, printed on small laminated cards, may be tucked away in a soldier's wallet, next to the picture of her husband, tacked up in a wall locker, or in the trash. Even so, each soldier has internalized each of these values. We hear about it every day, in everything they do, in a war that many of them do not believe in, for a leader who has used them up like toilet paper, each soldier still carries with them their values, worth more than our own values will ever be, because of their sacrifice.
Don’t commend them for “protecting our country”. They all know what they are protecting. If America were ever truly in danger, each soldier, marine, sailor or airman would gladly give their lives to protect her. They all know that America is not in danger now, just as she was not in danger in the sixties.
Terrorism? Ah yes, terrorism. Threaten immanent danger at the hands of terrorists and get America to rally behind any invasion against any sovereign nation. Especially if you can convince everyone that they have “nuke-u-lar” weapons (shhh, don’t mention the billions of dollars of oil at stake).
(By the way, does that mean that we are going to go invade North Korea now? I suppose I’ll save that for another entry.)
So if you truly support our troops, help them to get home.
Your magnet only says to them that you support the reason they are there. It is little more than a limp-wristed slap in the face to them.
posted by abbiapple at 9:49 AM
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