Admit It: We Don't Really Think About the Troops

[unhappycamper]

Admit It: We Don't Really Think About the Troops
Douglas MacKinnon
Former press secretary to Sen. Bob Dole
Posted: November 4, 2009 01:52 PM

Admit it. You go through your entire day without once thinking about our young men and women fighting and often dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. As they are not part of the fabric of our everyday lives, they are invisible. They don't exist. They don't count.

As we wake in the mornings, roll out of our warm beds, get kids ready for school, head to the office, plan our weekends and fall asleep in front of our televisions, countless American troops are exposed to the elements, barely sleeping in half-hour spurts lying on the cold dirt while wedged behind irregular rock walls, on the lookout for IEDs, land mines, snipers and guerrillas, and more and more wondering, "What's the point?"

A friend of mine who just back from a second tour in Iraq recently told me, "I honestly don't think anyone cares about us. The media has now decided that Iraq doesn't even exist. Politicians from both sides of the aisle use us as cheap expendable pawns. What am I supposed to tell my children I'm fighting for?"

For the folks I speak with from the military, it really has come down to, "Let us go big or let us come home." They are horrified with the thought that they are fighting and dying for nothing. Absolutely nothing.

They want a president and Congress who can clearly define a mission -- any mission -- and then give them the troops, tools and moral certitude needed to complete that mission. What they don't want, and fear is happening across the board, is to have politicians back home make battlefield decisions based on the 2010 and 2012 elections. They look upon such selfish partisan interests as a betrayal of their sacrifice. They are heroically putting their lives on the line and need it to mean more than a passing political advantage for one party over the other.


Rest of article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/douglas-mackinnon/admit-it-we-dont-really-t_b_345647.html



unhappycamper comment: A mission statement would be nice. As would an Exit strategy.

[lunatica]

1. And even less thought is given to the Iraqi civilian "collateral" war victims

We don't need a mission statement which would be another lie. We need to stop the wars. What the fuck 'mission' do we have in Iraq or Afghanistan? The way I see it the only 'mission' left is to pretend there is one.

[KharmaTrain]

2. Can't See What's Not Shown...

As a kid of the 60's the memories are still strong of seeing nightly reports from the battlefronts in Vietnam...along with the weekly death toll scoreboard (somehow we always seemed to kill 10 times as many VC and NVA yet they kept fighting).

Today's corporate media has dumbed and cheapend journalism and have lost interest in these forgotten wars. Albeit going out into the field is dangerous or those that do embed seem to demonstrate Stockholm syndrome...thus outta sight, outta mind as far as the corporate media. My bets are they've devoted more time to Balloon Boy in the past couple weeks than they have to either war all year.

And "we" have forgotten? Wrongo. There's not a day that there isn't a post here on DU about the casulties or whatever sparse stories are available. Maybe Mr. Dole's former PR person doesn't see any of this on faux noise, but that doesn't mean those of us who want all our troops home have.

[peace13]

10. You are correct ! The anti-surge protest on the mall...500,000!

It was on CSPAN for 45 minutes and that was it. We were there and it was amazing but it was not covered on MSM for ten minutes. People who say that no one stands up anymore are self soothing. They don't stand up and they don't want to look at those who do. I say, if they don't want to stand up don't but don't go saying that no one does!

And by the way people, if you don't like these eternal wars...call your *ucking representatives TODAY!

[jonnyblitz]

3. the war supporters sure as hell don't and that is why i despise

them with every fiber of my being. I am sensitive to this, being an ex-troop.

[raccoon]

7. Why, don't you know, they slap "Support Our Troops" stickers on their vehicles? :sarcasm: nt

[Fumesucker]

23. Not any more they don't..

The was a "Support Our Troops" sticker on about every second vehicle in my area in late 2003, I haven't seen one in months lately.

[JohnnyLib2]

4. Sadly true.

Rec.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

5. Just fodder

for the money machine.

K&R

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. Why should we?

I should spend part of my day contemplating "The Troops?" Why? While few like to admit it, the military is generally deployed in conflicts that have almost nothing to do with the everyday lives of Americans.

[peace13]

9. These people put their lives on the line for this country!

You should care because they are dying in your name!

[T Wolf]

11. NOT for "this country" but the benefit of the MIC. Period. I don't care because they are not dying

"in my name."

But they are killing in my name which goes against my values and beliefs.

[peace13]

16. They fight on your nickle. If you do not speak out you are just as wrong as the machine! n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. That's the story I keep hearing

I'd suggest that if we had a military 1/5th as large, and only involved in conflicts that actually had relevance to people's lives, the feeling would be much different. I don't deal in abstracts.

[peace13]

14. I assume that you call DC and try to change the system. n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. I'm tired of banging my head against the wall on that point

[peace13]

21. The soldiers are tired too!

Or haven't you been paying attention. What a luxury to be tired! I'm tired too but who the hell is going to do this if we don't? What a joke! The really funny part is that there are no jobs for young people here in the United States. They are going into the service to be able to feed themselves. The vote is in and slavery it is.

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. Oh well

Maybe it's a luxury, maybe it's not. People make their choices.

[Bragi]

28. I agree.

The military is not part of the solution, it's a (big) part of the problem. Most people now in uniform joined post 9-11, as U.S military operations became, far as I'm concerned, increasingly and abjectly illegal and immoral.

Most troops know this, and signed up anyway, so I don't know why I need to think about them a whole lot, other than to wish they were not doing every day what they are in fact doing every day.

[peace13]

8. Well you haven't rolled by our corner on Tuesday evening and Saturday mornings then.

We have been out there since 2006. People do stand up, they do make the calls and they do care. If you want to blame someone blame * and Congress for not giving a *hit.

On a side note all of our signs support the troops, we have policed them so that our message is... bring the troops home, there is no military solution, leave no vet behind. Last week a car went by with a young man in the back seat. He hung his head out the window and yelled, 'I am a US soldier and that hurts my *ucking feelings!' How sweet was that. Our big concern was that he knew how to read at all. Long story short, ya just can't please everybody. Believe me, we are getting sick of standing out there but not as sick as these soldiers are of putting their lives and souls on the line!

[Mari333]

12. I do. My son is in the Guard, so I do everyday.

and he wants to re up because he cannot find a job and I told him if he does I will never speak to him again. I cannot take anymore.
and yes, I think about them everyday and it makes me sick and angry and furious and my blood pressure reaches epic levels.

[barbtries]

15. i do, every day

in large part due to you unhappy camper. i want to be reminded, every day, that there are wars going on and that young people are dying and being maimed and otherwise destroyed by these wars, and that these wars, which imo should have never begun, must end!

having said all that, the writer is right. it gives me pause day to day, otherwise does not change my day. i haven't even been able to find an anti-war meetup in the area where i live.

[peace13]

19. If you can't find one then start one of your own.

Pick a corner near you and get out there. Like minded folks will join in. Your fist sign can be, 'join me to make a stand'. We have a group of about 10 people that stand twice a week. Some days it is one person and some days it is ten, but there is always someone. We have mom's who bring their little kids by just because it is Tuesday and the kids want to see the peace people. We can make a difference even if it is not on a national level.

[barbtries]

29. you've got me thinking

i tend to get tired after a long day's work, and stay tired all through the weekend, and i expect i'll feel silly standing on the corner by myself, but your suggestion has really set me thinking. in fact it just keeps returning to my mind all day. maybe i will do it, and maybe it will be a movement that will swell so big so massive the PTB will just have to give up their warmongering, murderous ways. definitely something to ponder.

either way thank you for all that you do. you walk the walk, i appreciate that very much.

[peace13]

31. Best wishes to you. We do get some good feedback out on the streets!

Thank you for your kind words!

[Solly Mack]

17. I can honestly say I think about them every single day

though many in my community do feel as if no one does

[semillama]

20. If it weren't for Garry Trudeau and Doonesbury

there'd be way less visibility for our troops in our newspapers. I find it deeply satisfying that the person in the media that is most honest and unwavering in support of US military personnel as human beings is a liberal gadfly.

[Iggo]

24. People say "we" when they really mean "I"

Nice try, Doug.

[Ron Green]

25. If most of them were draftees, I guarantee we'd be thinking about them

as well as some other important things we're not thinking about.

[peace13]

26. +1

[ChoppinBroccoli]

27. I Get Really Sick Of People Who Deify "The Troops"

Now look, let me just start out by saying that I have the requisite amount of respect for people who are willing to serve their country and fight, and possibly die in, a war they had no say in starting. That kind of altruism is admirable. But I'm pretty sick of getting bombarded with e-mails and bumper stickers and billboards and advertisements about how I have NOBODY but the military to thank for my freedoms.

Let's get one thing straight: "The Troops" are NOT in Iraq fighting for MY freedoms, or for anyone else's. Iraq never threatened our freedoms. And as far as bowing and scraping to military members for all my various freedoms, when was the last time anyone thanked the people who REALLY defend our freedoms EVERY DAY in this country? And if you don't know who that is, let's play a little game.

From where do we derive our freedoms in this country? From the ability to crush other nations militarily? Not even close. Our freedoms come from the Constitution. Now, when YOUR Constitutional rights are violated, who goes to bat for you, and where do they do their fighting? The answer is NOT "a soldier" and "to a foreign country, rifle in hand." The real answer is that when friendly Mr. Policeman violates your right to be free from Government intrusions on your rights, and when patriotic Mr. Governor tramples on your Constitutional rights, or when smirking Mr. President blatantly ignores entire portions of the Constitution, it's a LAWYER that goes to bat for YOU, and he does it in a courtroom, NOT on foreign soil. Did "The Troops" protect you from discrimination in the workplace? Did "The Troops" desegregate the schools? Did "The Troops" give women and minorities equal rights? No, some lawyer did. And when you've been wrongfully charged with a crime, thrown in jail (or Guantanamo Bay), and had your rights trampled upon, will a soldier walk into the courthouse with you and fight for your freedom? No, but guess who will.

I just can't stand that folks like me, who are on the REAL "front lines" of the battle for your Constitutional rights, seem to get nothing but contempt and scorn from the public, while the folks being sent around the world to oppress smaller nations and kill in my name are hailed as the TRUE heroes of our democracy and protectors of our freedoms. I've got news for the public in general: without lawyers in the courthouses exposing the egregious violations of our Constitutional rights that happen EVERY DAY in this country, there wouldn't be any freedoms left by the time "The Troops" got home from "protecting" them. Ever wonder why that famous Shakespearean quote, "First, let's kill all the lawyers" exists? Because in that play, the people speaking that line are planning a coup to take over the government, and they knew that the lawyers (the real defenders of the PEOPLE'S freedoms) would stand in their way to taking over, so they had to kill them in order to have their way. Not exactly the same meaning as people would have you believe, is it?

As I said before, I don't begrudge anybody the respect they deserve for doing good work. "The Troops" deserve their respect, just as school teachers, medical professionals, and good and decent people of most any profession deserve theirs. But to somehow make the leap that if you enjoy freedom, you ONLY have "The Troops" to thank is a fairly huge distortion of the truth. Just think that the next time you want to tell a lawyer joke, some lawyer somewhere went to Court to fight for your right to tell it.

[Bragi]

30. Great posting!

Thanks for that. Couldn't agree more.

[wuvuj]

34. Some people saw which way it was going...

...probably mostly Nam vets...and encouraged this kind of thing...of course pushed by the MSM...and financed by certain corporations...for which the troops are really fighting for.

A certain % of people in the US...if they had any real sense...would find that they had more in common with AlQ than those promoting the wars?

After all...it's plain and obvious that the same people who've exploited the ME have also exploited people in the US. But most in the US have at least gone along with it all due to the benefits...till it all crashed...and the ownership society was shown to be another scam.

Of course...the Patriot Act...forbids anyone to see things this way. I wonder why?

Those in power now see everyone they've exploited AS A THREAT? Domestic and foreign?

And there are always plenty of those that will do their dirty work...at home and abroad.

[Zix]

37. Excellent post.

I wish you'd put it up as an OP. Mind you, it would probably get locked.

[Greyhound]

39. This would make an excellent OP. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

32. speak for yourself, Dougie....

but anyway this was predicted LONG ago; pretty much right after the invasion...as the years go on, most average americans who don't have a personal stake in the war are bound to lose interest and change the channel (this is also a side effect of the made-for-TV, primetime manner the war was originally reported)....

[Initech]

33. I have a couple good friends of mine who both did multiple tours in Iraq.

[treestar]

35. The right and the left both use the troops

The right to tell us we have to support the war or we're being mean to them. Now the left does the same thing regarding stopping the war faster.

The bottom line is the war is wrong, we were lied into it, it's tough to get out of. We're paying for it in many ways. No, I'm not going to support a war that is wrong because the troops allegedly want me to. And I do support ending them as fast as possible, but because they are wrong. If the war was right, shouldn't the troops go? So that's not the question. The question is the damn war.

[Cleita]

36. That's because our media doesn't put the video on the six o'clock news

like they did during Nam. But that's when we had those left wing loonie newsmen like Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and those upstarts Dan Rather and Bill Moyers reporting the news. It's deliberate too so we don't think about it.

[Overseas]

38. I think about them fairly often.

But I'm a long time Rachel Maddow fan and back on the radio she always did "life during war time" segments and kept us in touch with veterans.

And I remember Vietnam and how rough things were for our soldiers and all who were involved, as well as the collateral damage.

[shadowknows69]

40. Well, some of us do.

[eridani]

41. It's really very simple. If they put actual pictures of the war on TV

--frequently, the wars would both be over. No pictures = out of sight and out of mind.