Gotta love the media

[rubberneck]

From Joel Stein of the LA Times

Warriors and wusses
I DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.

I'm sure I'd like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If you're wandering into a recruiter's office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.


And I've got no problem with other people — the ones who were for the Iraq war — supporting the troops. If you think invading Iraq was a good idea, then by all means, support away. Load up on those patriotic magnets and bracelets and other trinkets the Chinese are making money off of.

But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition. It's as if the one lesson they took away from Vietnam wasn't to avoid foreign conflicts with no pressing national interest but to remember to throw a parade afterward.

Blindly lending support to our soldiers, I fear, will keep them overseas longer by giving soft acquiescence to the hawks who sent them there — and who might one day want to send them somewhere else. Trust me, a guy who thought 50.7% was a mandate isn't going to pick up on the subtleties of a parade for just service in an unjust war. He's going to be looking for funnel cake.

Besides, those little yellow ribbons aren't really for the troops. They need body armor, shorter stays and a USO show by the cast of "Laguna Beach."

The real purpose of those ribbons is to ease some of the guilt we feel for voting to send them to war and then making absolutely no sacrifices other than enduring two Wolf Blitzer shows a day. Though there should be a ribbon for that.

I understand the guilt. We know we're sending recruits to do our dirty work, and we want to seem grateful.

After we've decided that we made a mistake, we don't want to blame the soldiers who were ordered to fight. Or even our representatives, who were deceived by false intelligence. And certainly not ourselves, who failed to object to a war we barely understood.

But blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying. An army of people ignoring their morality, by the way, is also Jack Abramoff's pet name for the House of Representatives.

I do sympathize with people who joined up to protect our country, especially after 9/11, and were tricked into fighting in Iraq. I get mad when I'm tricked into clicking on a pop-up ad, so I can only imagine how they feel.

But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you're not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it's Vietnam.

And sometimes, for reasons I don't understand, you get to just hang out in Germany.

I know this is all easy to say for a guy who grew up with money, did well in school and hasn't so much as served on jury duty for his country. But it's really not that easy to say because anyone remotely affiliated with the military could easily beat me up, and I'm listed in the phone book.

I'm not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn't be celebrating people for doing something we don't think was a good idea. All I'm asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: hospitals, pensions, mental health and a safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades.

Seriously, the traffic is insufferable.

[The Reaper]

Cute. Stupid. Just what I would expect from that paper.

Wonder why their readership is in decline?

TR

[rubberneck]

I was all fired up when I read the editorial but when I read the guys bio I had to laugh. What self respecting male works for Martha Syewart? I wonder if the don't ask don't tell policy is the sources of his angst about all things military.

[kgoerz]

Well another name added to the list when I go postal

[CoLawman]

At least this guy is being honest. He has removed the window dressing so many of his ilk hide behind. I totally agree with his assessment that they are all wusses, only my reasons are much different.

[Weazle23]

Originally Posted by kgoerz

Well another name added to the list when I go postal

I like that you said "when" and not "if". lol

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally Posted by Weazle23

I like that you said "when" and not "if". lol

If you knew what I know, you'd have left off the "lol" at the end of that.

[Stargazer]

LTC Steve Russell wrote a soldier's response to Stein's article. It can be found online at the American Thinker website. I think LTC Russell said it right. It is clear to readers who the individual of greater character and honor is.

[Gypsy]

Here's the link.

http://www.americanthinker.com/comme...mments_id=4272

And when I am old, I will be able to look in the mirror and know that I acted on my convictions to preserve what others will not. Cannot. Do not. And what I will see is a man with a clear conscience and a moral sense of purpose.

I am thankful I do not have to look into Mr. Stein’s mirror.

LTC Steve Russell

Beautifully said.

[REMFlt]

Sir, thanks for the link, I'm printing that out, and emailing it to friends.

[Doc]

What a tool.

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by REMFlt

Sir, thanks for the link, I'm printing that out, and emailing it to friends.

De nada. BTW, I'm a gurrrl.

[Hugh]

Originally Posted by Doc

What a tool.

Read this Interview with Joel Stein about the column, and it becomes apparent that Tools have a more logical thought pattern than him.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Read this Interview with Joel Stein about the column, and it becomes apparent that Tools have a more logical thought pattern than him.

As a rule I tend to be nice and allow more leeway than most deserve.

Why don't these eggsuckers start their own country and rely on their own security?

Mean hard people get left alone. Wussies get screwed with.

[Roycroft201]

Gypsy,

Thanks for that American Thinker link to LTC Russell's response to Joel Stein.

Wish it were required reading for every person that read Stein's piece.


Roycroft201