Not only did this young man serve our country, in uniform, in a war, protecting our rights as citizens, fighting for the constitution he is continuing the battle for all of us.
He is a part of VoteVets and what he does is for all of us, not just vets.
I want to thank him.
Disclaimer: I am not a vet, have never been in uniform, and do not know Jon except when I see him do battle on the tube....and have nothing to do with this organization except for finding it on the net and reading about it
More....
But this young man impresses me.
And when the likes of Ron Christie, neocon apologist, is on, I want to jump through the screen and pound him. This is from a retired school teacher, female, who has never pounded anyone in her entire life. People like Christie bring out the worst in me. When that man comes on, I see red. And today was an absolute insult. How dare him compare his service to the men and women who are fighting a war, getting paid next to nothing to defend the constitution, doing ten times more in one hour than that man has done for the country in his lifetime of service and gets paid megabucks. While Christie is more likely to be found schmoozing on the cocktail circuit, military people are risking their lives because they believe in our constitution; yet the friends of Bush and Christie are the oil barons and overpaid CEO's who will benefit. This greed incenses me.
Now don't get me wrong. I think public service (even outside the military) is a good thing because I believe in community and I am a liberal. I was a public servant for four decades. I taught in public school and like most teachers gave a lot more than my "specified" time as well as years of spending my own money for extravagant things like pencils, paper, notebooks, and Kleenex. And was proud to do it. My father was a cop and my sister was a nurse. I am hardly a stranger to the concept of public service.
But "public servants" like Christie are not in it for the betterment of community because this administration does not believe in community. His whining to Jon was hollow and false.
So for anyone, especially preppy snobs like Christie, to compare themselves to what people like Jon have sacrificed is a joke and an insult. I am thrilled that Jon let Christie know that the reality of "serving" in a war and his service were very different; and that Bush's "heh, heh, I'm gonna do speeches and fill my coffers...." was indeed an insult to the men and women on the ground fighting his oil war. Of course the fact that Bush can make even a nickel making speeches tells us how screwed up the world really is. I can't stand the man and I still get embarrassed when for him when he speaks.
Back to my original premise. THANKS to Jon, and the other Vets, for doing all you have done. And a special thanks to those like Jon and his friends at VoteVets who continue to give to our country. And most especially thanks for handling jerks like Christie since those of us in the audience can only scream at the television.
PS: I have been known to trash Matthews a time or two here but I have to say, something is different. Is he on new meds? Has he been told to get back to being intelligent about politics. Seriously, two or three times he shocked me in his handling of things....he was absolutely tolerable.