I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens,along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.Although I agree with his accusations of former-President Bush and former-Vice-President Cheney, I couldn't help but think there was a bit of self-exoneration in the letter. After all, HE volunteered for service. HE allowed the Bush lies to suck HIM in. HE was the dupe.
This is something that is completely lacking in veterans in general. Usually, after serving their time, they assign noble motives to their decision to enlist where there really were none. Most joined out of economic need. Others to get away from family and home town situations, but afterwards they love to pawn themselves off as patriotic heroes.
You can tell this is true because the upper-middle class and the upper class of Americans is almost completely unrepresented in the military.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Wow, Mike, you can't just stop at libeling gun owners with generalities. It's addictive, and you go on to make assumptions and generalize to smear the motives of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.
ReplyDeleteAre there some who join to escape or because of need? Sure. That's not all of them, and just because that's part of the initial motive doesn't mean that it's all of their motive, or that patriotism doesn't factor into their staying in.
But, then, you know this. You know that you were vomiting forth nothing but lies.
Are there reasons to criticize our military? Certainly. And there is a time and a place to discuss the incentives we give people to join and the motives of those who join. However, I'm not going to even begin having such a conversation with a person like you.
What kind of person is that? Well, look back at your Westboro Baptist post. No, you're not doing this from the same motives, but you are displaying the same hubris, claiming you can see into the hearts of these veterans, and telling us that there were no noble motives for their enlistment.
You're as much of a disgrace as the WBC cult, and frankly, I wish you the same bad luck and bad end I wish them.
Actually I was talking about my own personal experience and that of all the Marines I knew during my time, 1970 - 1972. The ones who enlist for patriotic motives are dupes of the elderly politicians who themselves didn't serve and whose sons don't. So, even the small percentage who do it for patriotism have been misled.
DeleteMost do it for the reasons I said.
In an effort to provide some temporary relief to those residing in hell, I generally agree with Mikeb on this.
ReplyDeleteThis guy was no better than a mercenary and he certainly wasn't a patriot.
orlin sellers
It is a rare moment indeed when we agree.
DeleteBoy, AnyMouse really spits off a buncha stuff....and they will not leave his name.
ReplyDeleteMike, I am a bit older now.....most veterans I know (Vietnam) will not talk of it at all. Most were draftees. Some are still dying, slowly, from wounds, Agent Orange, psychic breakdowns, suicides. The mortality rate in Afghanistan and Iraq is relatively low compared to Nam; better triage, med-evac. The gruesomely wounded from our latest adventure will be with us for a long time.
Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld certainly lied. So did Johnson and Nixon. It almost is moot when you return without and arm or a leg. America will owe those veterans forever, no matter what the reason they served. A cost that will not and cannot ever be calculated.
Let's just be thankful for our brave politicians who have made the world safe for capitalism.
I need a beer.
okjimm,
DeleteI don't care to leave personal information here in my comments for any unstable person to come across.
As for what I said about Mikeb, my comments were due to his claim to know, better than the vets, what is in their heads and hearts, and the disrespect he showed for them.
I have no problem with criticizing our war policy, or our military as an institution. I even have no problem talking with soldiers and vets about why they joined and criticizing motives and conduct of theirs. I have a problem with people painting all veterans with a broad brush in the way Mikeb did--it reminded me of the way Vietnam vets were treated, and the way that the WBC disresepcts veterans and their families.
First of all that business of Viet Nam vets getting treated so badly is greatly exaggerated. Those were some isolated incidents that the veterans-on-a-pedestal movement used to paint an unrealistic picture.
DeleteSecondly, as I mentioned before I never said ALL vets joined for shabby reasons, I said most.
Thirdly, I don't disrespect anybody. I just object to the false kudos that's heaped upon returning vets. It's bullshit.
Mike B doesn't know the meaning of service. He's an America hating expatriate who likes the socialism of Europe over the few freedoms we still have left here in the US.
ReplyDeleteI personally think every young man and woman should have to volunteer for either military service or if a conscientious objector, then do the Peace Corp, Habitat For Humanity or some other worthwhile voluntary service organization for at least two years.
Mike, I'm afraid I'd have to politely disagree with your general assessment of the military, and of that dying Marine in particular. Like a lot of other good kids who had better things to do with their lives, they signed up after 9/11 out of a sense of patriotic duty. They never thought their leaders would put them in harm's way unnecessarily. They never thought their Congress would go along with falsified intel. They never thought the American press would cheerlead from the sidelines, or that the American people would remain silent out of fear of being seen as unpatriotic.
ReplyDeletePeople who take that step on our behalf deserve to be treated with respect when they return, not ignored by us like some annoying background noise we'd rather not hear.
And whether someone signed up out of financial distress or patriotism makes no difference to me.
Thanks for being polite.
DeleteHe was too kind. There's times you don't deserve a polite response.
DeleteMikeb, I've watched you smear veterans in this article and then weasel about by saying that, well, you don't mean all veterans. I have questions for you:
ReplyDelete1. Do you believe in honor? Which is to say, do you believe that people make choices that either are honorable or dishonorable?
2. Do you believe that the act of service in a given profession can be honorable?
3. Do you believe that some people grow into their professions, thereby attaining honor?
Yes to all three, Greg, but that doesn't change my opinion about where most young servicemen are coming from. During Viet Nam there was a alternative rendering of USMC among young Marines: Uncle Sams Misguided Children. It was very apt.
DeleteDisclaimer: While I have no regard for the standing army or those who voluntarily participate in that socialist program, I have no contempt for any of those who were forced to participate in that slavery known as the draft.
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers