Some wonder why I am so vociferous in my condemnations of our administration and its dogged pursuit of Bush's War.
Unless you have been a veteran, you don't know what it's like to wear our nation's uniform. The sense of pride, the sense of responsibility it inspires. We love our country, and put our lives on the line on its behalf. We believe in what our country stands for -- notions of democracy, and freedom, and truth and justice. We are most intimately aware of the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many of our brothers in arms, because we ourselves were prepared to pay it.
Yet few of the people in charge made that sacrifice. Rather, they went out of their way to avoid serving their country. Cheney had "better things to do", Bush went AWOL. Virtually all of the "pundits" cheerleeding this war found creative ways to avoid serving. Wars are for the poor and the stupid to fight. Not for exhalted members of society like themselves.
Well fuck them.
Today is not for them. It's for those of us who wore that uniform, and those who continue serving our country even as their leaders fail them, lie to them, and use them as pawns in their great political and economic chessboard.
And for those of our brothers and sisters in uniform who gave their lives on behalf of noble causes, and those not so noble.
Nobody dare take out their frustrations on our men and women in uniform. They are doing their job, best they can, under impossible conditions.
The political "leadership", on the other hand, can rot in hell.