Yep, it's that time of year again !! It seems that about once or twice a year, typically around Veteran's Day or Memorial Day, Americans SERIOUSLY think about the debt of gratitude owed to the young men and women who put their lives on the line daily to fight for US interests, regardless of whether or not they agree with the policies in place. War is HELL and these brave souls are thrust into the middle of it daily, while VERY FEW people ACTUALLY give 15 seconds of thought to what they truly endure on a daily basis.
I wholeheartedly believe that if more Americans had FIRST HAND knowledge of the brutalities of war, there would a lot less Americans who support ongoing war efforts. It is extremely easy to sit back in one's Congressional office, behind one's radio microphone, in front of one's TV camera, at one's keyboard, and talk matter of factly about "fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here", "ridding the world of evil wherever it exists", "taking the fight to them", and a buncha other macho "kick their ass" talk. It's quite another thing to be on the frontlines of battle, hear the sounds of bombs and bullets all day, see your fellow comrades lose limbs and lives everyday, smell the stench of death every day, and several other brutal realities of HELLISH WAR.
The vast majority of Americans sacrifice very little for ongoing war efforts and most of our leaders that make decisions about war have NO IDEA and no concept of what a battlefield is truly like yet the wars go on and on regardless of the loss of life, limbs, blood, and the trillions of dollars spent to sustain war efforts. All across the land, from California to Florida, "Support the Troops" bumper stickers can be seen but that means different things to different people. For some, "Support the Troops" simply means "let's continue to fight wars regardless of economic and human consequence". For me, "Support the Troops" means provide every single possible resource that is required for them to DEFEND this nation but DO NOT put them in harms way any longer than is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. With that said, I call on President Obama, Rep. John Boehner, Sen. Mitch McConnel, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Harry Reid, and all other leaders of this nation to "fold up the flags, turn out the lights, pack up all equipment" and end these senseless wars. Support the Troops by BRINGING THEM HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES !!
Thanks for sharing. The article and those pics - especially the one with the widow in the graveyard - are a dose of reality!
ReplyDeletehttp://goo.gl/zAC5m I linked this post on my blog..this is a very important issue and you nailed it in this post
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