First things first…. Thank you to every man and woman (and children of soldiers) for their bravery and continued sacrifice. It is an honor to share a country with these amazing people.
So I was watching the View today and YES… I watch the View…. sometimes….. anyway the subject of Vets came up and Joy Behar mentioned something about the daily cost and the Republican blond jumped all over her. Quacking something about this being the Vets day and we should honor that and not talk about the war…. Or something along those lines. That they were off fighting for our freedoms…. etc….
There is something though that bothers me about the idea of war and fighting men/women. I cringe every time I hear someone say the soldiers are fighting for our rights to say what we say and/OR our freedoms. Maybe this is the wrong day to bring this up but I don’t think there is ever a good time to bring it up.
The War in Iraq has NOTHING to do with my freedoms. Neither does the war in Afghanistan, or did the first Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea, Indian, Mexican, etc. Whether we win or lose I will still be able to gripe and bitch on my blog. For that right I thank the men and women of the Revolution and our founding fathers. Maybe there is an argument to be made that would include the Civil War and WWII. Fine. But the idea that our freedom rests solely on the shoulders of fighting men and woman just irritates the shit out of me.
Americans constantly talk about being the best in the world at everything. Well guess what folks. We aren’t the best in the world in a lot of areas. We rank near the bottom of charts (industrialized countries) when it comes to education, health care, & most other major social issues. Having the #1 Army means nothing when your people are 18th in education. (out of 24 nations) And I am not so sure we even have the best military anymore. Afterall we are fighting one of our longest wars in our history with CAVEMEN!
The future of this country and it’s place in the world rest solely on the shoulder of its citizens NOT the power of its armies. What good is it to have a strong army when your people can’t compete in any other category? Should America ever cease to exist…. it won’t be through warfare. Its people will be responsible for the downfall.
What would happen if a foreign army reached the shores of New York and invaded our main land? We would ALL fight. Our citizens would secure theses “freedoms” and we would fight to the death for generations. America is what it is BECAUSE OF it’s citizens not its government or armies.
I am sure there are those of you who would say…. We fight wars on foreign soil so that we DON”T have to fight them here. I disagree. Sure a powerful army is of course a deterrent but nothing can take the place of heart and desire for liberty. Just look at history and it is filled with stories of small armies holding off or defeating much larger. All it took was a cause noble and greater than themselves. We all know the story of the 300. The small armies that have won, seem to have a common theme among them. They were either fighting for basic freedoms, existence, or a god.
You know…..one of the main reasons we dropped the bomb on Japan was because we were afraid that we would have to fight every Japanese man, woman, and child should we invade the mainland. It was NOT an option. The world knows that should America ever be invaded, no army in the world would win. Because every man, woman, and child would fight. We would secure our own freedom just as we once had.
Freedom throughout history comes as a result of revolutions lead by people, not invading other countries spreading ideals or defending armies. This same idea is why we won’t win against religious fanatics. Today our men fight for paychecks…. The enemy fight for “god”.
Another thing worth mentioning is the disproportionate numbers of minorities and poor who join the military. I am not sure the exact numbers but the one I hear most often is roughly 30 percent of our country is minority… Yet the military is made up of almost 40 percent minorities and more than HALF come from poor households. It is no secret that our inner city schools see more recruiters than rich neighborhoods. Or that most recruits are coming from rural areas rather than cities. It’s no secret that a large portion of the soldiers joined out of necessity & lack of options rather than a desire to secure our freedom. The military works the same way tobacco companies work. Get em young and stupid or you won’t get them at all.
I am not at all trying to disrespect our men/women in uniform or to diminish their need. I have nothing but the greatest respect for these brave people and the sacrifice they and their family continue to make. I admire everything about them. I come from a long line of service. My ancestors have fought in every major conflict since the birth of this nation. My grandfather (mother’s father) received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star in WWII. I thank everyone who has ever served and I am glad we honor them.
My point of all this is I guess this notion of blind patriotism and that being an American makes me or you any more special than other people….. is wrong. It is my opinion that this kind of patriotism is part of our problem. People around the world don’t hate us because of our freedoms, they hate us because of our arrogance.
America will only cease when we destroy ourselves from the inside….
I ask this… If our Vets are so important why are they among some of the least paid? Why do they make up a huge percentage of homeless? Why aren’t they getting the medical treatments they need? How come the suicide rate are so high? They come home after some of the most traumatic experiences any person could face and our country lets them suffer. We can bail out greedy companies but we can’t make sure every soldier is taken care of?
Put your money where your mouth is.
We should change the entire way we go about providing for soldiers. Would anyone object to giving a solder who has fought in a war a wage and pension he/she could retire on at any age? We would provide free housing and food allowance to any and all for the life of the soldier. Vets who are homeless would be able to get the services and help they need and deserve. Mental illness is a big problem within the military. A lot of them suffer from post traumatic stress and it takes a long time to get over. Yet we expect GI Joe to come home and get right back to his old job at UPS…. That is if where he/she worked will take them back.
Did you know that when a soldier returns from battle there is little to no evaluation for mental trauma. I heard they don’t even ask if the person has killed anyone OR seen any death. Yet when a Astronaut returns from space they go through all kinds of examinations. Soldiers are just expected to leave the war where they fought it. Shouldn’t each soldier get checked both physically and mentally by a good doctor?
Now we wouldn’t expect them all to sit on their ass and collect a check. These are proud people. BUT so what if they did? Who cares… they have earned it. They give more back to the country in 1 year than we give in our entire lives.
Family members of fallen soldiers will be taken care of as well and for the rest of their lives. This means immediate family and includes college educations for all. A reasonable amount and adjusted for inflation. A check every month for the rest of a spouse’s life and up until 18 for the children. However at 18, children would have the chance at college should they desire.
There is plenty of land in this country that can be made into military communities. OR instead of new land we could take back 1/4 of our golf courses. I mean golf is an elitist ridiculous activity anyway. The men who play on the biggest courses in the world don’t have any children in the military. They can sacrifice too.
We can find the money to do this and do it right. OR we could create the programs, colleges, space, and jobs to do it. I know I would be willing to pay my share. I don’t know a thing about economics and government budgets…. but it sure sounds like we can take that bailout money and do everything I suggest and MORE. Imagine would this would do for retention and recruitment.. let alone morale.
For people we honor and attribute our freedoms to….. we sure treat them like shit. These people have made the greatest sacrifice an American can make. What do we do for them? How many times have you given a dollar to that guy on the highway off ramp holding the cardboard sign? “Nah.. he will just go blow it on booze.” Instead next time… wonder if he might be a vet.
This is Veteran’s days and just like Memorial Day it is more of a day for selfish relaxation and/or BBQs… Oh and furniture sales!
This day should be like Christmas for soldiers. Every enlisted man or woman should get a $500-$1000 bonus today.
Considering the military makes up about 1 percent of our population, all this would be a drop in the budget bucket. And the majority of these proposed benefits would be for soldiers who have seen battle.
But until the day comes when a majority of our citizens believe it is our duty to help our fellow man in need, things will continue as is. Nobody wants to pay higher taxes. And anything regarding welfare of any kind forget it!
So happy Vets day everyone! ….. for what thats worth.
Possibly Related Posts:
Recent Comments