A War for Us, Fought by Them (NYT)

[northzax]

<snip>A War for Us, Fought by Them
By WILLIAM BROYLES Jr.

Published: May 4, 2004

WILSON, Wyo. — The longest love affair of my life began with a shotgun marriage. It was the height of the Vietnam War and my student deferment had run out. Desperate not to endanger myself or to interrupt my personal plans, I wanted to avoid military service altogether. I didn't have the resourcefulness of Bill Clinton, so I couldn't figure out how to dodge the draft. I tried to escape into the National Guard, where I would be guaranteed not to be sent to war, but I lacked the connections of George W. Bush, so I couldn't slip ahead of the long waiting list. My attitude was the same as Dick Cheney's: I was special, I had "other priorities." Let other people do it.

When my draft notice came in 1968, I was relieved in a way. Although I had deep doubts about the war, I had become troubled about how I had angled to avoid military service. My classmates from high school were in the war; my classmates from college were not — exactly the dynamic that exists today. But instead of reporting for service in the Army, on a whim I joined the Marine Corps, the last place on earth I thought I belonged. </snip>

read the rest: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/04/opinion/04BROY.html and send it to every republican you know...

[daa]

1. I remember

walking around for a month with a lump in my stomach like someone had punched me until I reported. Awful feeling. I couldn't pull a Limbaugh, or Bush, Or Cheney, or Gingrich, or Quayle.