Support
The Troops?
Why And How?
By
Stan Moody
06 December,
2007
Countercurrents.org
This Administration has skillfully
juxtaposed the War in Iraq with military gallantry. It is a chapter
out of the "Fecal Veneer Theory," where the coating of manure
that encases this dubious war is made beautiful to the eye and the heart,
obscuring its origins and its reality. It is national denial taken to
an art form.
Yellow ribbons
abound on cars, on lawns and on lapels. Dead soldiers are elevated to
sainthood. Funerals are mass gatherings with barely a dry eye. Politicians
are heard to extol the bravery of the 50,000, more or less, American
soldiers killed or wounded for the sake of our national pride.
Those who
come home in body bags – those vaulted into glory – are
the lucky ones. The 25,000, more or less, who come home with missing
limbs, missing minds and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) have
been tucked away under another layer of feces – disinterested
and bloated bureaucracy.
There is
no place in America for lives broken by this national obsession with
glory and honor. While war is Hell, the glamour of war is the stuff
of purpose and dreams for a nation with an insatiable appetite for nothing
less than purpose and dreams.
Today's America,
suffering from nostalgia of World War triumphs of long ago, has forgotten
that at previous times in our history war has been a reluctant defense
against the inevitable – not the end product of a relentless search
for new tyrants on whom to resurrect its flagging sense of destiny and
virility.
A steady
stream of flag-draped coffins has become the stuff by which the dreams
of a colonialist empire in search of new horizons are kept alive. As
the world becomes smaller and more accessible, America regresses from
New World Citizen to Dodge City reborn.
Currently,
there are some 150,000, more or less, military personnel stationed in
Iraq. Estimates as high as 100,000 private contract soldiers have been
hired as construction workers and "bodyguards" for US diplomats
hidden behind a recently-constructed 104 acre, $1B walled fortress on
the banks of the Tigris River, leaving no doubt as to who, when the
dust has settled and the troops are home, is in charge in Iraq.
Of the 150,000
or more troops, an estimated 40% are National Guard and reservists.
These are civilian soldiers accustomed to acting as a stand-by militia
while they live out their normal lives with families and jobs. Known
as "Weekend Warriors," these citizens have assumed their roles
for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity
to earn a little extra money and retirement benefits for themselves
and their families. Instead, they often find themselves torn from careers
and family and denied entitlements such as educational benefits and
mental health assistance by their government. The divorce rate among
returning military is nearly 50% higher than for the civilian population
and climbing.
The mantra
of "Support Our Troops" as a smokescreen for a war of dubious
merit is a shameful chapter in our nation's history. Not only has it
stifled legitimate debate over the efficacy of the war, it has been
used to cover a multitude of sins against those whose lives have been
shattered. The core reason the Congress of the United States has been
unable to confront this travesty is fear of appearing to demoralize
the troops.
In the long
run, however, what can be more demoralizing to the troops than a nation
that stands idly by, pinning medals on broken lives?
These people
are no more heroes than are our police forces, our public school teachers
and our fire fighters. They are like a lot of other Americans –
duty-bound and loyal. To thrust them into the role as "hero"
is to rob them of their freedom of speech and to rob the American people
of the benefits and wisdom of their experience.
We are told
that our troops are keeping America safe – that they are in harm's
way for the safety and security of those of us at home. There being
no connection between the War in Iraq and the safety of America, this
is a lie, the repercussions of which will be felt for decades to come
in the form of distrust of our government and reluctance to serve in
the civilian armed forces.
Our troops
and our citizens deserve better than this. The backdrop for heroism
is not imperialism with its contrived glories. The backdrop for heroism
is service where war has become inevitable.
Stan
Moody, founder
of the Christian
Policy Institute, has served in the Maine House of Representatives...He
is an Advisory Board member of "Jews-On-First" and the "Institute
for the Study of Christian Zionism." Dr. Moody is the author of
several provocative books, including, "Crisis in Evangelical Scholarship"
and "McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry." Pastor
of a rural country church in Central Maine, Moody has enjoyed a long
and productive career in small business development and management.
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