Happy Veterans Day. For my foriegn readers, this is a day when we remember and show respect for the veterans of our armed forces who have served our country. Many schoolchildren, government workers, and some lucky folks in private industry get the day off.
But this year, the parades are scant. The vast majority of our servicemen are too busy defending the country’s interests to march parades in their honor.
Reservists have been called up, and more are being called up to serve full time. These troops are at higher risk of being injured on duty. They leave behind jobs that need to be done and families that need to be fed. Medical personnel are among those whose short term plans are being rewritten by the military. It has been said before but bears repeating: “So much for one weekend a month and two weeks a year.”
These reservists may not even be sufficient. There is loose talk of reinstating the draft. This should be enough to make young men aged 18-26 sit up and vote. Oh, and I did mention medical personnel in the last paragraph: Doctors can be drafted until age 35. In the 2004 elections, will Bush will be so eager to make sure all those no-postmark military absentee votes are counted?
Remember, every young man called up artificially creates a job, making it seem like the economy is in better shape than it really is.
When our troops get to Iraq, they face unknown enemies on every side, aided and abetted by a 70% unemployment rate and contracts with American companies that effectively funnel money out of the country. As I write, 398 American troops have been killed in Iraq, 37 of them in the first week of November. The sobering truth is that we are almost certain to celebrate Thanksgiving knowing over 400 of our soldiers have died in Iraq.
Back home, soldiers’ families face certain grim realities. Even soldiers who get leave might not make it home to see their loved ones. Combat pay may be reduced. Commissaries (low cost on-base stores which make it possible to raise a family on an enlisted man’s salary) are being closed in “remote areas” — places there are few stores to begin with. Schools on military bases risk closure. Apparently the Administration feels “No Child Left Behind” doesn’t apply to the children of the very men who makes their rule possible. Veterans Administration health benefits are underfunded.
Finally, dissent within the military is not tolerated. We are not talking about disobeying legal orders, we are talking about thinking on one’s own time.
Every true Patriot, if you will excuse the pun, should read what Al Gore had to say over the weekend. Agree or disagree as you like. He is not running for any office, and thus has little to gain or lose by saying what he thinks. Or, to use his words, “So, is that fine with everyone?”
Support our troops: pray for peace.