You know, I've had it with the statement "Support Our Troops." It's a loaded, full of crap, partisan driven litmus test for separating "True Patriots" from the "Commie Liberal Scum." Yet behind the bravado, the machismo, the pissing contest, what this whole statement comes down to is do you honor or dishonor the troops. I honor the troops. They do not.
Every American supports the troops. You know why? We all pay taxes. My tax dollars, just like every American's, goes to pay for the military. Yet those in charge dishonor our troops by not supplying them with the armor and supplies they need and cutting the benefits they deserve when they return, while their friends get rich on the profits of war.
I honor the troops by working hard, playing by the rules, and gladly paying my share of taxes that go to pay for our military. I do not dishonor them by incorporating myself, setting up a PO Box in Bermuda, and asking my lawyers and accountants to figure out ways I can pay less tax.
I honor the troops by paying my fair share, and
supporting politicians who demand that others pay their fair share as well. Cutting taxes in a time of war dishonors our troops. It starves our government of the resources it needs while
millionaires reap the profits and
Paris Hilton's inheritance supports her vices instead of the needs of the troops.
I honor the troops by understanding freedom isn't free, and neither is our country's dependence on oil. Those who would rail for war, riding around in their SUV tax write-off with a yellow magnet above the gas cap, are this first to claim "freedom isn't free." But how do they honor the service of the troops? By placing a feel-good yellow magnet and a vehicle of vanity that gets 13MPG while it feeds our habit for foreign oil and drives our foreign policy towards war and away from energy independence.
I honor our troops by trying to change our leaders to ones that will not dishonor our veterans or our country. I do not dishonor them by supporting an administration that supports torture, ignore the Geneva Conventions, weaken our military, or cede our moral leadership through a hypocritical bullying world posture.
I honor our troops by flying the flag they die for. I do this because our troops deserve my respect, not because the flag is a political symbol I can wrap my politics in.
I honor our troops by not supporting this war based on lies. The war is the Bush administration's. Bush and his administration own it. Bush and the rest of those so willing to go to war will reap the consequences of their war in this life or the next. The troops are doing their duty to the Commander in Chief and trying to survive. Bush and his administration dishonor our them by putting them in a position where getting themselves killed is more likely than any real lasting victory.
Support our troops? I honor them.