Kerry's comment on the military

Nice. I always get that feeling from civilians. That they feel sorry for me. I must be from a poor family, or I'm not smart enough to make it in the "real" world. Kerry just said it out loud.

I bet he was suprised at the reaction. I fully believe that what he said is the commonly held opinion of his circle of friends and of many people like him. I'm sure they don't come right out and say it, even to each other; but it's the accepted explanation for why anyone would WANT to be a soldier.

Remember the line from "Piano Man," by Billy Joel? "...he's talkin' with Davey, who's still in the Navy, and probably will be for life." That doesn't exactly sound like a positive thing does it?

This is from the "Dilbert Blog," by Scott Adams:
"I remember one day in sixth grade, our teacher asked us to go to the blackboard, one at a time, and write down something we would be willing to die for. The first few kids wrote down answers such as “cancer” and “hit by car.” Our teacher informed us that this was not what he was looking for. When my turn came, I wrote “my country” and apparently this was the right answer. He praised me in front of the class. He also would have accepted freedom and democracy.
So how did a 12-year old know he should die for his country? That stuff gets in your head early, way before your critical reasoning capacity is in place. And it stays there."

So the baby boomers grew up thinking that you have to be nuts to volunteer for the military, and now they have the kids who are being recruited in school. And they protest and fight against the recruiters. Then they say they support the military. I wish they would just be honest. Don't say you support the military if you wouldn't allow your child to join. That's like saying you support civil rights but you don't want your daughter dating a black guy.

John Kerry only said what many people believe. I think it's a minority, but there are a lot of them. Every time I'm out in public in my uniform, I get the sympathetic looks and the "how much longer do you have?" questions. I had a guy ask me that once and I told him I could retire in two years, but that I would probably stay in for two more after that. He looked shocked. He actually asked: "Why would you do that?" I told him that I love being a Soldier and I don't want to stop. He walked away looking puzzled. I don't think my answer fit his version of reality.

I get plenty of "Thanks for your service," type comments too; so I know that there are people out there who "get it," too. If you see a Soldier in uniform, please say thanks, but don't ask when he or she is getting out. Ask how long he or she has been in, where they've been, etc... We love that. We are proud of our service and proud of our country.

If you are one of those Kerry type people, you don't have to understand. You can live in your little fantasy world, pretending that you are smarter, more worldly, higher class; and that the world is not a dangerous place or that the U.S. is the cause of all the wars and hatred out there toward us. That's a nice little fantasy that you are lucky enough to be able to indulge in. If one day you convince enough kids to believe this fantasy, and the military runs out of recruits, it'll all come crashing down around you. By then it will be too late, unfortunately. But I know you don't believe that.

For now, just sit down, shut up and enjoy the freedom provided to you.