A soldier's post and his followup one. It is getting a lot of play in blogdom.
Soapbox Time
Schadenfreude blog
Sorry, but I've got to get this off my chest.
This weekend, the charming and delightful Mrs. Felten decided that the time had come to file our taxes. So, we traipsed over to the local H & R Block to get 'er done.
We're going through the the W-2's, when the man who is doing our taxes asks me what I do for a living.
**Big Sigh**
"I'm in the Army."
"Really??"
"Yes." (Brace for impact)..
"Well, let me tell you what I think about Iraq!"
I'm going to say this, and I imagine that many of you will be a little mad at me for doing so.
If you haven't been there, I could care less how bad you think the situation is. I could give a rat's behind for how poorly a job you *know* the United States, the U.S. Army, and for that matter, individual soldiers are doing.
Just what do you know?
You sit there and pontificate on subjects you know nothing about. The best you can do is regurgitate what your favorite LSAH spewed on CNN last night.
You attempt to make judgements on me and my fellows from a position of ignorance. The amount of truth you actually know is so insignificant as to be ridiculous. We are all a little more stupid for listening to you.
I can't even stop for gas while wearing my uniform without someone telling me what a horrible job our President is doing "over there".
So be quiet, keep your incredible stupidity to yourself, and stay protected by your betters.
There. Back to my charming self.
Humbled
I’m humbled by the response to my post Soapbox Time from yesterday. I’ve received more hits on that one rant than I usually get in a week. My most sincere appreciation to everyone for the support you’ve given me and my fellow service men and women. You are all fine Americans. Frankly, I’m a little embarrassed by the attention. A thousand thanks.
I’ve been in uniform on and off for the better part of 19 years. I’m a college graduate with a degree in Criminal Justice. In the civilian world, I’ve worked as a police officer, a business manager and an IT consultant. None of these professions, save perhaps law enforcement, gave me the day-to-day satisfaction I receive as a Soldier.
All of us in uniform, from any branch of the Armed Forces, will never get rich. We will never drive expensive cars, send our children to Harvard, or retire with millions in the bank. We do this job out of a love for this country. It sounds trite, but there it is. I’m not talking about wrapped-in-the-flag blind bugle-following, but something deeper. What we do as service men and women is about love for the promise of America. The knowledge that we are making a difference in the defense of this Nation. When I look into my children’s eyes, I am proud to know that I am protecting their future.
I’ve been to Iraq twice now. I will go again, perhaps not as gladly as I did when I was a young super-duper paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division back in 1991. But I will go. That’s what this is all about. Wherever we are called, whenever we are ordered, for whatever mission, we go. We do the job no one else wants to. My family sleeps secure in their beds every night because someone somewhere is manning the foxhole. I heard a saying a long time ago: “If not you, who?” Truer words are rarely spoken.
A few years ago, I went to the family cemetery in Rose Creek, Minnesota. I was looking at my grandfathers’ grave when I noticed a new stone behind the headstone. It was a military marker, flat on the ground, like you see in some of the military cemeteries around the country. It stated that he served as an Artilleryman in World War I. At the time, I was an Artilleryman who served in Desert Storm. I never knew the man, but I felt an immediate bond and connection you only get when talking to another Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine. The years melt away. You instantly have something in common, regardless of branch of service or years you were in. Any service member is a brother or sister.
What I’d like the Liberals to get from this is simply that members of your Armed Forces are not tools of any Administration. We don’t swear a “loyalty oath” to the President. We swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. That’s the meat of our lives; that’s what I want you to think about. We are husbands and wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. We may be your next-door neighbor. The military for us is a calling, not just a job. What other employer makes you sit down with an attorney and fill out a will? We understand better than most what is at stake. The whole “bring the troops home” campaign is funny to us. If we didn’t feel that the best way to defend liberty is to take the fight to the enemy, we wouldn’t be here. Sure, there are some people in the military who don’t agree with this Administrations’ policies. Do we protest? A few do. They lose every time. 99.999% of us simply do our duty. That’s all we do.
In 1787, the founders of our Nation were meeting behind closed doors. The Constitution was finalized and people were leaving Independence Hall. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia stopped Benjamin Franklin, and she asked him, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it."
And that’s the duty of every American.
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