War does not determine who is right- only who is left.
- Bertrand Russell
I respect our military as much as the next person. Having once upon a time been an Army Reserve officer, I have a passing familiarity with what it means to serve. I’m fortunate that the only conflict I ever faced while in uniform revolved around determining who emptied the coffee in the officer’s mess and forgot to make a fresh pot. I saw more of war when I was a aid worker in the former Yugoslavia that I ever did when I was in the army…and what I saw made an indelible impression upon me. You’d have to have seen and experienced what I did in order to understand my perspective, but suffice it to say that war is a horrible thing to contemplate, and even worse when you experience the aftermath.
When I read the message of the above graphic, I feel as if the request for prayers is an exercise in completely missing the point. Why is no one asking why Americans are still fighting and dying in Afghanistan? There’s no way to credibly claim that they’re “fighting for our freedom,” because nothing happening in Afghanistan these days even remotely threatens our freedom OR security. Young Americans lives are being sacrificed in the barren hellscape of Afghanistan more than 14 years after the war there began…and for what?
If we supported our troops, we’d be asking why American soldiers and Marines continue to be placed in harm’s way. Why are our sons and daughters still fighting and dying in Afghanistan long after the reason for going to war there- capturing Osama bin-Laden and others responsible for the 9/11 attacks- no longer exists?
If we truly loved our men and women in uniform, we’d be demanding to know why they’re still being sent to fight wars in places that no longer have any impact on our freedom and security. We’d be clamoring to know what cause they’re fighting for, what the purpose of putting them in harm’s way could possibly be. Instead, we mouth meaning platitudes about loving, supporting, and praying for them. None of those gestures do a thing to make things better for those in harm’s way…though they do go a long way towards helping those of us here on the home front feel better about ourselves.
If we cared about our troops, we’d not only be demanding to know why our sons and daughters are still being sent to war zones, we’d actually care for them once they’re home. We’d help them readjust to civilian life, provide counseling and job training programs, and spare no expense caring for their physical AND psychological wounds. Instead, we stand idly by as Republicans in Congress, most of whom have never been embroiled in a conflict more dangerous than fighting over the last donut in the House cafeteria, deride programs to assist veterans as wasteful spending.
We LOVE our troops…until they come home, at which point they’re left to fend for themselves, sometimes after multiple tours of duty and too much combat experience. We thank them for our service but offer little if any support beyond lip service. The Veterans Administration healthcare system is a mess, overburdened and underfunded. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans sometimes wait months, in some cases even years for services. How could that possibly be deemed to be showing support for those who’ve served?
If we actually cared, we’d stop mouthing cheap, meaningless platitudes about patriotism and actually DO something. We’d demand that Congress stop providing billions in tax breaks to the 1% and divert that money- even just a small portion of it- to attending to the needs of those who return from war damaged and in need of repair.
Of course, for most Americans, it really isn’t about serving our men and women in uniform as they’ve served us. It’s really just about assuaging and papering over our collective guilt in order that we might feel as if we’re doing something of value.
If it wasn’t for faux patriotism, we’d have no patriotism at all.
