23
May
I just realized that the triple-bangs awaking me three times daily between the hours of 8 and 10 am are twenty-one-gun salutes from soldier funerals. This is what I get for living across the street from Arlington Natl. Cemetary.
How depressing.
In other news: It took me six months to figure this out.
Cut that out? You mean- guys, cut out volunteering to give your lives so I can waste time being a spoiled kid drinking lattes and being another cool clever blogger who likes to take numerous self-portraits of himself in insecure instrospection and post in leisure his latest inner dialoges. You are a metrosexual bitch who should be ashamed to have a father who actually was a patriot. Go swim with the dolphins and let kids who don’t have your leisure of sleeping in till ten defend your luxury of freedom.
Oh, snap.
I think you mis-interpreted “cut it out” here, but it was sort of an odd voicing. I’m trying to figure out what conclusion you actually drew from it, though:
a) Did you think I was whining about soldiers messing up my morning by being silly? “Crazy ol’ soldiers, always dying when I’m trying to sleep!”
b) Did you think I would title the post “cut it out” because I don’t think soldiers should get funerals?
c) Did you think “how depressing” was a reference to how, like, dead soldiers are totally harshing on my vibe so I’d rather not think about them?
While I don’t blame you for not understanding “cut it out” to mean “stop dying,” I think it’s stupid that you jumped to the conclusion that whatever I said was negative/sissy/randomly-anti-something.
Myself and regular commentors on this blog would like nothing more than to see soldiers home. But then, we didn’t tell them to go to war in the first place.
Times are crazy when you’re a patriot for sending America’s defenders off to die, and a traitor for complaining about it.
I’d be fuckin’ pissed if I was woken up by the sound of our country’s failure every morning. Luckily, I live in the South. I at least get a cup of coffee before I have to listen to people mouthing off about patriotism.
I guess my wife’s name is on there so leave her out of it- Man, buddy, I don’t know what happened to you but you are not the guy I thought you’d grow up to be. I reserved my opinion but its obvious you chose a far different path than me. You and “Eb” can say thank you in a couple years when we are on our 3rd and 4th deployment after those guys hit us again. The thing is, I was just like you guys a couple years ago. I got rid of all my weapons, I felt like war would never solve the problem ultimately. Yet, what I finally realized was, although I feel both sides of this issue are wrong in many ways, I had to choose a side, and I would rather do something than nothing. How many kids do you guys have? How about your spouse? I have all that, yet I volunteered to go and do what needs to be done. What do you have on the line that gives either of you the right to show such disrespect. Don’t give me an itemized breakdown of self-justification of what you were trying to say. In a year, that could be one of my soldiers they’re burying out there. You need to realize that for you this is just another issue to write satiric comments about- for soldiers and their families, when you write stuff like that,(esp. that fact we grew up together) its like an arrow to the heart. People say, oh, I support the soldiers but I don’t support the war. If I’m going to war, and ost of us have VOLUNTEERED to do this expecting to go, than you if you don’t like our country, if you don’t want to be a patriot, if want all the privileges without the sacrifice, than go somewhere like Cananda, or France- just don’t sit around spouting off unless you’ve done something beyond live a pampered life. Honestly, people like you guys remind me of the people in Lost. Everyone in that show is majorly flawed, but some will fight and some just want to do anything to survive. I’m with Locke, Echo, Sawyer, and Sayeed. Let’s do what we’ve got to do. Eb you show your intelligence and maturity by your vulgarity;a fool’s comments are often defined by four letter words . . .
Doug, I’ll see you in another life . . .
Ahhh, sorry about the name thing, I thought you were out of the country. Will fix.
a) “Those guys” who, the Iraqis? When did the Iraqis hit us?
They were pretty much the only country in the area without pockets of Muslim extremism and ties to terrorism.
b) You’ve made up your mind that my point is “war is bad, soldiers suck, peace is the answer,” when it’s actually, “man, I just realized that the noise waking me up in the morning is soldiers dying.” What you’ve done is called the Straw Man.
c) Again, the only disrespect I’m showing is for leaders who mis-use troops and resources. Do you believe citizens should blindly agree to everything politicians marginally in power say regarding war, because otherwise it’s not “supporting the troops?” Please. It’s my personal belief, and the belief of the majority of the country, that the war in Iraq was a mistake. Soldiers didn’t orchestrate it, soldiers didn’t build the case for it, soldiers were simply expected to pay the price for it. Politicians aren’t soldiers, politicians are politicians.
If my lack of experience with war is precludes me from commenting on it, then surely our president’s lack of experience with it should preclude him from ordering it.
d) “How depressing” isn’t satiric. I should’ve bordered it with animated waving flags to indicate this. (satire)
e) “If I’m going to war, and most of us have VOLUNTEERED to do this expecting to go, than you if you don’t like our country, if you don’t want to be a patriot, if want all the privileges without the sacrifice, than go somewhere like Cananda, or France”
Did you just say that if you’re going to war, I don’t like our country and should move? I love our country. One of the best things about it is that it’s not a dictatorship that expects us to agree with all of its actions, and allows us to effect change. Another nice thing about it is that it’s not going to draft me to do things I’m morally against in a war I ideologically disagree with.
MY ARGUMENT: “This war is wrong, it shouldn’t have happened, and the people behind tricking us into it have done evil.”
YOUR ASSERTION: “Unless you’ve participated in it, you don’t get to say that!”
The military leadership’s current attitude towards the public is dangerously close to one of “You can’t tell us what’s right or wrong, you’re just citizens!” This sort of schism never turns out well, historically.
f) “just don’t sit around spouting off unless you’ve done something beyond live a pampered life.”
Okay, so I’m not supposed to have an opinion or discuss politics until I’ve worked for the government. Everyone, pay attention: This will affect many of our day-to-day conversations.
Mike, if you’re saying that people shouldn’t dissent unless they’ve served, you might want to take your argument off the internet and into the homes of 150 million Americans.
g) “some will fight and some just want to do anything to survive.”
I like that there’s no middle ground in that sentence: Either you’re willing to fight, without question, without need, without justification, and without thought of the long-range consequences….or you’re a slimy bottom-dweller who just wants to be safe. Oddly, on Lost, I would put Sawyer into the realm of “do anything to survive,” and I would take Echo out of the sentence entirely, as he’s given up his violent ways.
Also: So you’re basically with every male character on Lost except the fattie and the drug addict? Not even tough-girl metaphor-for-president Ana Lucia falls into your category of fighters?
h) Hey, Eb’s sentences were at least cohesive. Communication style isn’t at issue here.