It really gets on my nerves when people bad-mouth the military. Ernie Chambers, a state senator from Omaha has done it publicly. He wasn't arguing about why our military is where a lot of people think it ought not to be.. He was arguing about a a damn license plate. I will put links to the articles at the bottom of the page. Mr. Chambers said:
"America is a country without honor, the military discriminates against minorities and soldiers in Iraq are dying in vain and raping women".
This comment got me so mad my blood nearly boiled. I am not going to talk about how our country is "without honor" and I am not going to deny that soldiers are dying. This, however is an unfair and partially untrue statement. I wrote a letter to the editor about this comment. I was only allowed 250 words. Because he didn't want to honor our soldiers who have passed away fighting in the most recent military conflict.
The part of this comment that got me so riled up was that "soldiers...are raping women." This is why he doesn't want to approve a license plate honoring the soldiers who have given their lives doing what our government asked them to do? Yes there are a few creeps in the military. Think about this though: What was his argument against the "Pro-Husker" football plates? Did he talk about the football players that have been involved in drugs and yes... *big gasp* raping women??? Did he say that perhaps we not honor the Husker football team beause of those football players? Not in this state. "Them's fightin' words." (Same as wearing purple when we're playing K-state.. You just don't do it!) Because people here have pride in our football team, and not every football player was involved in drugs and rape.. Nope, many of them had 4.0 GPAs and are generally wonderful people... The same is true for the military.
It doesn't matter if I am in, married to or hate the military... The soldiers are more than just soldiers. They are people... With families, children, wives, husbands, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers just like the rest of us. They deserve respect as human beings. I am so sick and tired of people talking about them as though they are the ones that wanted to go fight a war. I am tired of people bad-mouthing them. Why are they there then? How did they get there? I'll tell you. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES voted a bunch of people into the senate and congress. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES voted for a President. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES use those people as our REPRESENTATIVES. They make our laws, and make decisions for us, because it wouldn't be right for us to have to vote on every little piddly thing that needs to be dealt with. So our representatives got some information that led them to make a decision, which placed our military where they are today. These people didn't just get together and say "let's go raise some hell somewhere where the locals don't want us." They were told to go there... If you look at it logically, who is responsible? Yes, the government, yes the administration, but also... WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES... who put those decision makers in that place where they have the power to do such things.. So how fair is it for someone in our State goverment to say something like that? It isn't. If the president can be impeached for getting head from an intern.. I think a state senator should be impeached for slander. For the slander of my husband, many of his friends, my father, my grandfather, my cousin and her husband, several of my high school friends, and possibly someday my son.
I am also going to say that the military does NOT discriminate against minorities nearly as much as many other organizations in this country. What do you need to succeed in the military? As an enlisted soldier, you just need to stay out of trouble, work hard and pass your promotion tests. These aren't tests that you haven't been trained for. By the time you get up for promotion, you should know most of what they are asking you. If you want to be a commissioned officer in the military, what do you need? A college degree. How do you pay for that? The military will take care of it. All you have to do is get through school with a decent GPA. (not GREAT, decent.) To succeed, you just need to stick it out. You need to be focused and dedicated. Do what is right, and DO YOUR JOB. Yes, there are a few tests here too, and some are hard, but what race you are has NOTHING to do with the questions that are asked on those tests.. They want to know that when push comes to shove, you are going to know which button to push, and who is allowed to tell you to push that button. OOOKay.. enough on that subject..
Yes, the people in the military get paid to do what they do, and yes they get benefits, and while I won't complain about those things, they aren't worth all of the things that they have to give up. Lets think about what the people in the military give up because WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES have asked them to do a job (through our representatives, of course.). Our soldiers give up months and years at a time with thier families, births of their children, all of their firsts (words, steps, smiles, laughs), they miss birthdays and anniversaries (my husband and I have yet to spend one together in five years of marriage), they give up a sense of stability because they move so often (we have lived in 3 states in five years, One of them twice, for a total of 4 moves from state-to-state, and soon will be 4 states and 5 moves). They give up knowing their children, going to ball games, seeing their school programs. Many of our soldiers are not full time soldiers, so they give up jobs (yes the companies are required to keep jobs for them, but things are often different when they return). They give up their lives. They give up their body parts, and some have given up thier mental health. A few (God help them) have lost their faith. They give up their families, and they give up their time. For what? A few bucks, a college education and lowered health care? I don't think so.
My soapbox doesn't necessarily end with Mr. Chambers's comment and the way it made me feel. There are quite a few things I'm getting upset about. I could go on forever about gas prices and American Pride (or the lack thereof) , sacrifice and how our society has our heads shoved so far up our *** and how so many people think solely about themeselves, but I won't. I just want you all to think about some issues when you are out and about complainging:
- Gas prices. "They are too high." Fine. Do you still buy it, or are you finding a different way around? If bread was 10 bucks a loaf I'd bet you'd eat something else.
- The Government. I won't go into the whines I hear about this all the time. How many of you voted? Did You? That's what I thought. If you didn't vote, shut your mouth. You have no right to complain about it. IF you voted, you are allowed to complain. But don't sit around whining. Write to your representative and tell them what you think they ought to do. After all, if we don't tell them what to do, they are going to do what they think they ought to.
- Breastfeeding in public. The breasts are only sexual things that men are attracted to because our society has made it that way. Breasts are biologically attractive to men because they are a sign of fertility. They are not made for sex. They are made for milk. Do you get grossed out when a baby is drinking from a bottle? Don't freak out if you see me feeding my baby. I refuse to do it in a bathroom. I don't eat in there and neither will he.
There's a ton more I could say, but I've rambled on long enough. I am tired of it. Tired of it all. Stop whining. Do something intelligent to fix it. Oh.. and Mr. Chambers, stop talking bad about my husband and his colleagues. They do their best; it's all they can do.
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2 comments:
Way to go Mary !!! You are right on taget as usual.
Thanks Cheryl... I think the reason why the comment bothers me so much is WHERE it came from. He is a representative of the people in his district. I doubt that most people in his district would agree. It irritates me that he is a public official and was so unprofessional.. I think that he's been like that forever though...
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