It's Monday Morning, It's Memorial Day, and I have nothing I feel compelled to write about, except that I have nothing I feel compelled to write about.
Most of us have come to the the conclusion that Obama is incompetent. Never in the history of the presidency have we seen such blatant on the job training for a position that requires someone to hit the ground running. Even George W. Bush wasn't this bad. Ok, what's next? Are we tired of the oil spill, Obama's Marxism, or how the GOP is going to screw up this November? I am.
Today is Memorial Day, formally know as Decoration Day and while the day commemorates soldiers that have died in military service, it was originally created to honor Union soldiers that died during the Civil War, but was expanded after World War I. Since then we honor US soldiers from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf War, The Iraq War, the Afghanistan War and a host of other smaller conflicts and long forgotten and secret missions around the world.
When I was young, we used to have a Memorial Day Parade, with marching bands, the fire and police departments, veterans, and even the cub and boy scouts. It was a big deal. This was during the Vietnam war and in spite of the poor treatment of soldiers coming home then, veterans were looked up to where I lived. I think attitudes changed until September 11, 2001, and we became united against a common enemy, at least for a few years, until the next election cycle when political expediencies trumped decency in some cases.
Still, I have say I have become retrospective and introspective about some of these wars, their costs in human and hard capital and wonder if it was worth it. Thomas Jefferson, one of my heroes, if that is possible said that "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure." What is a patriot? A "patriot is a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors." Ok, sometimes I guess I feel like a patriot in my actions, but I never really liked the word. When I think of the word patriot, I imagine the revolutionary war soldiers with the tricorner hats playing the snare, flute and carrying the flag. It's seems anachronistic in that it was a long time ago, a time I am not in. Anyway, I digress. I think the Civil war was worth it, the same for WWII, although if not for our mishandling at the end of WWI, we wouldn't have had a WWII. Korea was never resolved, and we ran out of Vietnam, the last two committed in the name of preventing communism, which BTW, is anathema to everything i stand for. We've had the first gulf war to save the Kuwaitis from Saddam, and now we have two wars, one in Iraq over weapons of mass destruction, and Afghanistan, for a purpose whose meaning has been list. I don't think anyone remembers why we went there anymore. Remember Osama Bin Laden?
Instead, we are fighting the Taliban in efforts to nation build there. Where have I heard that before? Hearts and Minds? I don't think we will be any more successful in Afghanistan and to be honest, why are we doing it? No one asks that question, at least from the right. It seems many of my compadres are of the mind of
Charlie Gruschow, and think we need to fall in line. I think we need to take 10 steps back and ask what the heck are we doing?
After 9/11, we had every right to retaliate against those that not only perpetrated and promulgated the vile acts against us, but those that actively enabled them. Instead, we trumped up a war with a crazy despot to engage in reshaping the middle east. Such is the mentality of those that have or ever have had any skin in a game. We went to Afghanistan to find Osama, and we're still there, nation building now, while the rat still eats and sleeps under the cats nose. Let's face it: we screwed up and now the Yo Gabba Gabba president is making it worse. It's easy to spend human and hard capital when one isn't respected and the other isn't earned.
Anyway, on this Memorial or Decoration Day, I do want to thank all those that gave it all, and those that gave some. We such people, but we need to take better care of them, and use their services more wisely and effectively. I think we also need to ask the hard questions of our leaders and demand responsibility and accounting for failures. We are almost 9 years into it without an end in sight, and no one, at least on my side is asking why? It's time to bring them home as we are going to have bigger fights to win in the future. As Thomas Sullivan Magnum once asked, "did you gird your sword just to gather water cress?" I hope not.
Thank you for reading this blog.
