'Person of the Year?' U.S. service men and women.

[bigtree]

That would be my choice. No other Americans are subject to more sacrifice demanded by our government. No others in our country have been asked to bear such a difficult and extraordinary burden as they have in the mitigating of the persistent political and other consequences of America's response to the Sept. 2001 plane crashes.

Overall, they have performed with grace, skill, and selflessness. I nominate them.

[Warpy]

1. Agreed, it's easy to be a star, surrounded by admirers

It's harder to be one of a million faces in an army, surrounded by people who want to kill you.

Seconded.

[CC]

2. Person of the Year

2003

The American Soldier
http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2003/story.html

[Warpy]

3. The job has become even more thankless

so it's time to recognize them again, IMO.

[Arctic Dave]

4. 2003. Isn't that the year we illegally invaded Iraq?

My cynical side is getting the best of me.

[bigtree]

7. yep

. . . sold as the 'center' of the administration's terror war.

I think about 40 troops were killed there that December alone.

[Arctic Dave]

5. I would say people who help the poor. Now that's a thankless job.

[knightinwhitesatin]

6. I'm a soldier

and most of us would not like the attention. We love our jobs and we love the American people, but many of us don't like any attention shined on us for our service. It is an honor for us to serve all of you.

[Lagomorph]

8. We were always told to...

wear the awards for the people who earned them and aren't here to wear them anymore.

[knightinwhitesatin]

9. Exactly

the real heroes are buried in France and Belgium, Okinawa and Arlington.......we are just the humble servants of this nation. I just wish the people would realize the Afghanistan is a lie as much as Iraq is and demand we all come home.

[fascisthunter]

11. will do

it's the least I can do, while not in uniform.

[ShortnFiery]

23. Yes, that's the greatest respect we can show our service members: to force CONGRESS to

do their job by either *defunding* the MIC take-over or *declaring war* so that you are not deployed with half-measures with the SOLE goal of enriching the private contracting firms who are a part of the war industry.

The only people who will benefit from this escalation are "the contracting firms" and "general officers" of the military.

The most respect we can show our service people is to NOT send them into the meat grinder of the MIC with a half-baked mission and exit strategy. :(

[bigtree]

10. it's really the least we could do to honor your service during a time of high deployments

It's always good to pay close attention to the matters (and humanity) that our government invests in with such a massive percentage of our hard-earned resources.

Here's hoping that the spotlight forces our politicians to put more value on their (your) lives.

[Cha]

12. That would be unanimous.

[peacetalksforall]

13. How about a fund raiser for three servicepeople for a New Years Day check to

their family or bank account with a clear message that we may all be anti-war, but we are pro-soldier (i.e., we are pro-our kids)?

I was too broke for the quarterly fund raiser - I hope to be able to contribute in time for a New Years Day check?

How to select? We are creative! Goes without saying. Especially our admins.

[gratuitous]

14. No.

The people in the war zone who are there not by choice, but by chance. The ones who aren't armed to the teeth with a daily budget of more than a billion dollars a day. The ones who face bullets and bombs that blast apart their lives without warning, that they can't escape and have no means to fight against. And those who go to stand with them, similarly unarmed.

[bigtree]

15. I'd give the non-military their due

. . . but I'm not feeling the 'billions' these individual troops are supposed to be benefiting from.

[ShortnFiery]

22. Yes, there's a shitload of Mercinaries there protecting Hamid Karzai.

:eyes:

[NYC Democrat]

16. why not its better the "Twitter" or "The Economy"

[ShortnFiery]

17. Rather than some INANE award from the M$M, the average service member would rather COME HOME. eom

[bigtree]

18. maybe you're right

. . .but that effort should likely begin with more value placed on their lives. A little visibility to their service and sacrifices wouldn't hurt that effort. I support all efforts to effect that.

[ShortnFiery]

19. Oh no, let's not stop there: If we want WAR, then it's time to re-implement the draft.

That way we can HONOR each other? :evilgrin:

This is INANE and it won't mean squat to the average grunt who's returning for his 4th tour in the Middle East. Many have already lost their marriages and hardly know their kids ... yeah, MEANINGLESS distinction by the whorish M$M is going to be the highlight of another crappy year of deployments and hardship. :crazy:

[bigtree]

20. It's a small gesture

It has nothing to do with 'wanting war'. If it gets folks attention to the service men and women's lives, I'm for it. I'd rather see their lives highlighted than I would any other right now. That's about the extent of it. To object to the small gesture because it doesn't solve all the problems behind their deployments is ridiculous.

[ShortnFiery]

21. Yes, it's all around "small" - not unlike magnetic yellow ribbons slapped on car bumpers.

All HYPE with NO DELIVERY. :thumbsdown:

[bigtree]

24. no one is presuming that should/would be the totality of our interest or opposition

. . . 'cept you in this petty dialog.

[ShortnFiery]

25. No, I'm not petty, but we don't need to feel good about something this flatly INANE.

That's all ... it means NOTHING. You want to help the service members, send your children to go kill and die for corporate pipelines and geopolitics. All those who support this escalation should SHOW us you care by putting yourselves or your loved ones on the line.

[bigtree]

26. you don't need to lecture me about opposing this opportunistic militarism

. . . surrounding the occupations. How about spending YOUR time lecturing someone who actually supports it?

Support for our nation's defenders goes hand and hand with opposing these reckless and destructive missions abroad.