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An Old Vets Opinion: Fools and Fanatics
By: Jack Dalton
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, right or wrong, is not only un-patriotic, but it is morally treasonable to the American people.”
President Theodore Roosevelt
History teaches many lessons one of which is about war—war not only can, but does bring out the worst in people. This is clearly evidenced here in the U.S. Blind hatred and xenophobic responses seem to rule the day.
Stand opposed to Bush and his cabal, openly—there isn’t debate on issues, but there is a lot of “citizens” that will lambaste other “citizens” with venomous name-calling and threats, then call it “patriotism.”
Write and publish an article, essay, or simply a short op/ed critical of Bush of his collection of “Mayberry Machiavelli’s” and you would be amazed at what comes forth from the good “Christian” folk that seemingly view Bush one step below the “second coming.” No debate on the issues, just venom, hate, name calling and threats.
There is not a writer that I’ve talked with that does not receive “hate” mail. Most of it isn’t worth the time of day and is treated accordingly. Occasionally there is an email that spurs some good debate, although I must admit it does not happen often, unfortunately.
Over the past few months however, I’ve noticed a marked increase in the level of just flat out venomous hate mail and threats from some of my fellow “citizens.” If throwing mindless threats and venom filled hate mail at their fellow citizens is what these good up-standing “Christian” folk mean by “patriotism” I want no part of it. If what they mean by “patriot” is to silently have “faith” and “trust” and then obediently following, without question, those that profess to be this nations “leaders” once again, you can count me out.
I learned a long time ago that politicians lie, some more than others. If it’s a politician, no matter whom or what position, I do not take that person on faith; nor do I trust, out of hand, the words that come from between their lips. I understand that politicians have multiple agendas, most of which are multi-faceted, which are generally hidden from us, the citizens of this nation. They need watching, closely, always; they need to be held accountable in absolute terms for everything they say and do (or don’t do) for they cloak their “full purposes” in secrecy and the flag.
To my way of thinking, being a “yes” man for whatever party is in power is not being a patriot it’s being a fool. Being a patriot requires, no, it demands active involvement and participation in the political process. That goes way past simply “trust and obey” and simply casting a “vote” every few years.
When it comes to politicians I am rather cynical. That cynicism is not arbitrary or capricious, a whim; it did not just “happen.” It was born and nurtured.
It was born from having willingly marched off to the Vietnam War in August on 1965 (I enlisted behind the end of the Cuban Missile crisis and in 1965 asked to be sent to the ‘Nam) with all the fervor of a born and bred right-wing hawk. “My country right or wrong; love it or leave it”—there was no middle ground. Back then I would have made Bill O’Riley and Rush Limbaugh look like bleeding heart liberal do-gooders.
From October of 1965 until I left Vietnam in April of 1967, I was wondering what war the politicians and generals were telling the American people about, as it sure wasn’t the war me and my friends were in the middle of. One of the hardest lessons for anyone to learn is that your so-called leaders are willing to lie and deceive even those that they send into that “Heart of Darkness” that is war.
The language of deception was the political norm back then just as it is today with and about Iraq. Catch words and phrases all meant and designed to create specific psychological metaphors in an effort to create and maintain their “necessary illusions” and to “manufacture” the needed consent. Con, hustle and manipulate—welcome to democracy, American style.
Well, that’s not my America. I’ve been challenging that and the powers that be ever since coming back from Vietnam. Doesn’t matter what party as I see no real difference between them—two ends of the same stick, the one the American people keep getting in the back. They lie and people die. George W Bush has become the “king of the hill” on the lie and die part. There’s a lot of people that lie and get away with it.”—Donald Rumsfeld. That’s one of the few honest things I’ve heard him say.
So, what’s all this about? Where am I headed with this little diatribe?
This is a partial and limited response to a “letter to the editor” in the Canyon Lake Week, a newspaper published by Doug Kirk in Canyon Lake Texas (Camus County—San Antonio area). Doug is a voice of reason in a sea of Bush ideologues (some are, but not by no means all) who opt for ideology over reason and logic (forget the facts, full steam ahead). I’ve not reprinted the letter that was written that gave impetus to this reply but as you read this commentary you’ll get the gist of what this person wrote. It’s getting too easy for people in this county to once again label fellow citizens as un-patriotic, un-American and traitors. This ought not to be.
“…it is people like you who cry anti-war slogans, criticize our commander-in –chief for liberating Iraq and Afghanistan from barbarian rule that I was referring to as wimps.” Also included in the “wimps with no backbone that do not deserve to be called Americans” category are, “…wives, mothers, and others that complain…” I felt this rated more than a simple letter to the editor in response.
For all that believe and think as does the person who penned those words, this is for you, one and all.
While you were at home baking cookies, I, and thousands of other “wimps with no backbone” were crawling around in Vietnam. While some were being “patriotic” proudly waving the flag of American self-righteousness and vociferously supporting that un-mitigated disaster, as is being done today with Iraq, I and thousands of others where getting shot to hell and back, just is happening in Iraq today.
35 years later, after all the pontificating about “never again” has faded from memory, that same flag of false and misguided patriotism once again “proudly” waves over America. It seems that never again is here again (that is if in fact it ever went away).
The ease at which those of you, that so blindly follow Bush, can label fellow citizens as “wimps without backbone that do not deserve to be called Americans” including those of us that are combat veterans concerns me in some ways more than Bush. Decorated for counter insurgency operations in 1966, three times wounded and a life fighting the effects of Agent Orange a wimp does not make.
By your statements one can only conclude that you believe the only patriotic Americans are those that toot the horn for Bush. I guess it makes no difference to you that the man you support has and is cutting funding to the Veterans Administration which to date has forced over 250,000veterans out of the system die to a lack of funding. All that while creating more vets.
If continuing my open opposition to the Bush cabal makes me a “wimp without backbone” I guess I’ll be a wimp without backbone for whatever life I have remaining. For I will go to my grave in opposition to any and all that preach perpetual war for perpetual peace and profits over people.
The thing that really stands out is that the vast majority of those that feel so free to label their fellow citizens as “un-patriotic, un-American, traitors, wimps, etc., especially those of us that actually wore a uniform and went to war, is that they themselves, for whatever reason, never wore this countries uniform let alone go to war as did those of us that are now labeled by them solely because we oppose Bush. Welcome to America. The arrogance of people to call anyone, let alone combat veterans wimps, un-American is astounding!
My right to criticize was born in the thick of war—your right to criticize was born in your front rooms from watching 30 second sound bites on Fox “news.”
“The rest of us…face the challenge of forcing change, making “America” mean something more than callousness, greed, smugness, orgiastic levels of consumption, disregard for the suffering of others and a willingness to kill to protect our privilege and power.” (Prof. Robert Johnson, UT, Austin)
As far as the statement about Iraq being liberated and the Iraqi people are now free is concerned, it would be laughable if it were not so sad.
The Iraqi people are now free, free to be a part of the 60% unemployed and free to watch Halliburton import thousands of foreign laborers to “rebuild” Iraq.
They are “free” to watch the wholesale privatization of their nation’s resources, infrastructure, economy and everything in-between by the same U.S. multinationals importing labor. But, the Iraqi people have been liberated.
They are free to see their fellow citizens subject to arrest, detention, torture, and murder in the same prisons that Saddam used for the very same purposes. But they have been liberated and are now free.
They are “free” to watch their country turned into what it never was until the politically driven and ideology based invasion—ground zero for fools and fanatics. But, Iraq has been liberated and the Iraqi people are now free.
They are free to wonder, with all the money Halliburton has been paid, when they will have potable water, electricity more than 8 hours a day, they are free to wonder about this and much more.
They are free to wonder why Americans pay no attention to their own General Accounting Office reports that clearly state that Iraq is worse off than before the invasion. (GAO report, 6/2004, “Iraq is Worse off Than Before the War Began”)
I could go on for a long time enumerating the theft of Iraq, but time and space prevent that. Be that as it may, one last thought on the “liberation” of Iraq.
For those willing to use the brains memory cells, you will recall that in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, not one time was “liberating Iraq” part of the discussion.
From beginning to end it was weapons of mass destruction, mushroom clouds over Manhattan, and the link between Saddam-bin Laden and al Quaida. All of which has proven to be false and deliberately so! It was when those “reasons” began to unravel that Bush’s adventure morphed in to a war of “liberation.” Deliberate deception just like Vietnam.
I for one am real tired of Bush and company pissin’ on my boots while trying to convince me it’s raining. The crazy part is how many of you are reaching for umbrellas.
Posted by Jack Dalton at July 06, 2004 12:28 PM | Trackback
Comments
I'll bet
Dollars to Donuts
your eyes are shit brown
And that baby shit yellow stripe
on your back turns to a skid mark
in your skivies
San Antonio
Posted by: TXVet on July 7, 2004 12:08 AM
Right on, Jack Dalton. My sentiments, exactly.
And I was a Republican before TXVet
was born.
Posted by: Disgusted Vet on July 7, 2004 04:00 PM
Mr. Dalton, I couldn't agree with you more. Check the comment by San Antonio TXVet.....that's one you can relegate to the deaf, dumb, and blind not-worth-the-effort-to-respond-to file. Pathetic thing is, he doesn't even know he's out of line; I'm sure he thinks he's "patriotic".
Posted by: eva on July 7, 2004 04:01 PM
I agree with you Mr. Dalton. I missed the Vietnam draft, but have family members and know people that will never be the same. War is hell, thank you for your service. All I can add to your post - is that that many of the Bush supporters are complete hypocrites. Why do these so called "christians" - not judge Bush by what he does - not what he says? This adminstration is evil, they show it in domestic policy - gut the environment, cut services for the poor, cut overtime pay for the common man, while sending the children of the common man to the hell in Iraq, all the while smirking, cutting taxes for those that need it the least and proclaiming Jesus's name. There is a word for these people and it fits to a T. Call them right-wing fascist.
They would still follow Bush - even if Bush was cought with a 12 year-old boy's dick in his mouth. Somehow some way they will rationalize it.
As their hypocrite vp. would say FUCK 'em.
I have had enough of team SmirkAndSneer!!
- jason
Posted by: jason tomas on July 7, 2004 04:32 PM
Remember the Bible says "you willknow themby their fruits." All I see are lemons!
Posted by: pa on July 7, 2004 05:41 PM
Mr. Dalton, your expressed sentiments and knowledge are fine examples of patriotism. I've argued several points that you have made here.
Unfortunately, I see that someone followed up your post with insults to compensate for their inability to say anything substancial and intelligent. But then, I've come to expect little, to nothing more from Bush supporters.
Please, keep sharing your thoughts and knowledge.
Posted by: Treva on July 7, 2004 05:42 PM
Texvet; why are you still here and not in Iraq? Why don't you go and send a decent man back home to be with his wife and kids? Are you a coward or a moron, or both? You're just another blood bag to W.
Posted by: ,mary prichard on July 7, 2004 06:07 PM
Mr. Dalton (...and you deserve the "Mr."),
I cannot begin to thank you enough for voicing what I've felt for more than a year. I missed Vietnam by less than 6 months (my brother-in-law, a decorated (and wounded) USMC/Vietnam vet saw to it that I entered as late as possible) when I entered Uncle Sam's Canoe Club (USN). I served under Carter and Reagan. I voted for Reagan the first time around, but soon saw the light.
I'm active in the motorcycle community in my state, and get all the sneers and jeers the right feels obliged to shower me with because I'm a "...target rich area..." (according to a retired Army Captain). I'm going to lose a number of tentative "friendships" I've formed here, because I simply won't go away. I've urged them to at least see Michael Moore's film. I've shown up with my decidedly anti-Bush bumper stickers on my truck (when it was my turn to provide a support vehicle) and I'm going to continue to turn them on to the writings of people like you. They need to learn that being the second "blind" in "The blind leading the blind" is really not as patriotic as they seem to think it is.
I'm particularly disturbed when the likes of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Limbaugh et. al. tell me that I'm un-patriotic because I won't hand over my free will and my sense of self to the war mongerers "just because" of the office they inhabit, or the number of stations they spill their vitriol through. Like you said, many of these chicken hawks never even wore the uniform. I did. You did. My brother-in-law did. John Kerry did. I have a very difficult time curbing my urge to spit their vitriolic, anti-patriotism back at them... but I know it will do no good, and in the end, I will have lowered myself to their domain.
Word like those you've penned, showing that the "Holier-than-thou" set are the antithesis of that which they proclaim to be, needs to be brought to more people. How do we do this? I wish I had an answer.
Please don't stop what you've begun, though... We all need to continue to work toward making them realize we're not what they think we are... and they're not what they think they are, either!
Posted by: Grinch on July 7, 2004 07:46 PM
I'm not American, but I see the "patriotism" in the USA as being dangerously close to the nationalism that fed the fires of Fascism and Stalinism in Europe in the not too distant past.
I won't repeat the old line about patriotism and scoundrels, as you all know it.
But why is American nationalism so caught up with symbols (flags, national anthems, pledges of allegiance, etc.) which look to Europeans like the precursors of totalitarianism? And why so little concerned with the real patriotism which concerns itself with the real moral standing of one's country and its representatives. Right now, 40% of Canadian youth think that the USA is "evil". Not just "wrong" or "misguided" but "evil". For a real patriot, like Mr. Dalton, this must be a source of enormous embarrassment, that nearly half of the USA's closest neighbor's youth think this way. The answer is not the usual "patriot moron"'s answer of "we have a bigger army than you, so there". It's a real questioning of the situation that the country finds itself in, and working hard to change it.
Otherwise, the USA will become a nation of moral lepers, with its citizens denied visas and right of residence in other countries, with its companies forbidden to do business with other nations, and with diplomatic relations about on the level of those of the rest of the world with North Korea - tolerated as a dangerous maniac, but despised and hated.
And it will be the fault of the "patriots" who wrap themselves in the flag without considering what the flag really stands for; freedom and democracy, which are rapidly disappearing under the criminal reign of the Bush administration, along with true Christian values of love and tolerance.
Posted by: hugh on July 7, 2004 08:22 PM
Thank you Jack, for the honest and heartfelt essay. Here's a suggestion, forward the names of all who send you hate mail to your local US Army recruiting office. I'm sure all these 'patriots' are more than willing to go to Iraq and kick some Arab ass, but don't hold your breath.
Posted by: Jay on July 7, 2004 09:59 PM
Right on, Mr. Dalton. Just read your piece and couldn't agree more. I am a Navy veteran (1980-1992). I have to admit that when the Iraqi invasion was being played over the radio, I had a very sick feeling. Part of the feeling is of the attitude that the invasion was being reported like it was the Super Bowl. I have always had the feeling this invasion was poorly planned and it was proven to be the case.
Posted by: E.W. Keller on July 7, 2004 11:13 PM
Jack Dalton, I am not surprised at the claim that you stated because you are not a Bush fan, you must be just another fool and voted for Clinto twice and now another fool that you are bying his book of lies. I too am a Vietnam Veteran I was there as you say crawling around for my Country, shooting the enemy to save my life to get back to my good ole US of A. The war in Vietnam was started with Kennedy and escalated under Johnson and finally brought to an end under Nixon a Republican, Yes he did what Johnson could not do. But then had to leave Office, then under the Carter our military was cut to bits, not even enough to get to Iran to free American held Hostage. Then Reagan took Charge and built up a Defense force that could kick and Countries off the face of tehe Earth, then Clinton jump into office by doing his slick talk and fool all of you idiots to vote for him and talk os world peace, Going to get the national debt down, and by doing so let the terrorist bomb our Country, Our Embassies our Navy ship and actuall did nothing but talk about it. Why he too was cutting our military to bits, just draining the money fro the military and only to save the budget. And what happened to what he did to us, he brought the terrorist right back to this good ole U S of A and you know the results of 911.
You say there was not a tie between bin Laden and Saddam. Look at Soveit President Putin, he said there was a planned major attack on the USA by bin Laden and this was a plan that Saddam had after 911.
And I am a Disabled Veteran, and the HR 303 that kept sufacing while Clinton was in office to give the Military retirees their retirement pay along with the VA compensation for their disabilities, never came to light under slick Willie Clinton, Hey you know whay W. Bush signed the bill, made it a reality.
You and the other fools need to open your eyes and see what the prioties is in our life time.
Taking out Saddam is keeping the Terror overseas. With people like you have no merits cutting a President that is kicking some butt to keep this U S of A safer.
WillIam Clark
Posted by: William Clark on July 8, 2004 12:47 AM
Thank you Mr. Dalton.
Thank you for putting into words so eloquently, feelings this 54 year old ex vet
felt, but could not express. It is so disheartening to think that the humanity , soul,
and compassion of this country has been taken over by these bile filled, venomous , wannabe's.
I, like many others, have been silent for too long, we've let these assholes run rough shod over us for too long, we've listened to their
vitriolic diatribes against us for too long. I turned the other cheek, they slapped it, now its time to kick some ass. Take your ball and go home Bushies, come November, we're taking our playground back.
Posted by: K.D.Mulvihill on July 8, 2004 02:25 AM
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