My niece recently sent me that POS "It is the veteran (I've also seen
it as soldier) giving us rights" chain letters, complete with waving flags, flag
draped coffins ect. I replied to her: As a vet, your uncle, and a grandpa, I am replying to the e-mail you forwarded with the best of intentions. While the thoughts contained in the e-mail might make people feel good, it is extremely inaccurate, even fundamentally un-American, and simply reinforces a very inaccurate destructive meme.
Let's focus on taking care of the vets, not using them as pawns in jingoistic myth building propaganda.
In the oath they take when being inducted into any branch of the service, young men or women who will become veterans promise to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;"It is their DUTY to DEFEND the CONSTITUTION, not the flag. Remember, only one other country has had a "Pledge to the Flag."
It is a shame and a disgrace that the 'war president' is allowed to dishonor the 3900+ dead by secretly returning their flag draped coffins to American soil in the dead of night. God forbid the American public see some of the results of his illegal and immoral war. I find it disgusting that he has not attended a single funeral of a troop who has lost their life in his illegal and immoral war.
It is the VETERAN CONSTITUTION, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN CONSTITUTION,, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN CONSTITUTION, , not the poet, who has given us freedom
of speech.
It is the VETERAN CONSTITUTION, , not the campus organizer, who has
given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN CONSTITUTION, , not the lawyer, who has given us the
right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN CONSTITUTION, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote.
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10 comments:
Um, talk about missing the point. The Constitution is worthless without a military to protect it from foreign and domestic intruders. When the Supreme Court rules, its decisions are ultimately enforced by the implicit threat of a gun.
No, anonymous, you are missing the point.
Were there no military to back it up, the Constitution would still be the glorious document it is.
It ain't some random set of rules only as good as the military might behind it.
And under no circumstances would the Constitution ever be anywhere in the neighborhood of your ugly adjective "worthless".
You are categorically wrong, if not pretty damn anti-American at your core.
Actually, you're both wrong.
The freedom you have is the freedom you take for yourself, and the freedom you refuse to allow others to take. No piece of paper can ever grant you a freedom, and no one with a gun and a uniform can either.
At best, a piece of paper provides an ideal to aspire to. At best, a person with a gun provides a respite from a particular type of "intruder." (God I love that "defend your family from the robber/rapist" meme. It's so quaint.)
wow.
i think anonymous needs to do a little reading. i'd start with michael oren's "power, faith and fantasy"...
in which, among many many other things, you will learn that the practically entirety of the citizens of the united states of america would NOT stand for a national military in the beginning.
that's right. no veterans. at all. not allowed. still had a constitution, though. ain't that some shit?
ignorance like that is an embarrassment to this great nation.
know where you came from, for chrissakes.
Exactly. For most of this country's history we had a very weak military, almost nonexistant in peacetime. It wasn't until post-WW2 and the Cold War when this huge, out of control military complex sprung up. What a joke.
I must disagree with all of you.
You have these freedoms upon birth, others take them away. The military and police may respect them or they may interfere with them. They do not actually Grant them.
You have these freedoms upon birth, others take them away
Yes, with violence or the threat of violence. So the only way to preserve these freedoms is to be prepared to counter that threat.
Were there no military to back it up, the Constitution would still be the glorious document it is.
Fat lot of good that would do us. I'm sure the thought of how perfect our Constitution is will keep evil men from beating our brains in with clubs.
It ain't some random set of rules only as good as the military might behind it.
Yes, it is. Without that might (and civilian law enforcement), your rights are subject to be violated by whoever has a bigger gun and is willing to use it.
And under no circumstances would the Constitution ever be anywhere in the neighborhood of your ugly adjective "worthless".
Ever here of a little thing called "The Civil War"?
You are categorically wrong, if not pretty damn anti-American at your core.
Wrong on both counts, and fuck you.
in which, among many many other things, you will learn that the practically entirety of the citizens of the united states of america would NOT stand for a national military in the beginning.
Except, of course, all of them who fought in and supported the Continentals in the Revolution. Without that victory, the Constitution never gets written.
that's right. no veterans. at all. not allowed.
That's a hell of a thing to say about all the guys who froze their asses off at Valley Forge and watched their friends fall to British lead. They weren't veterans? George Washington wasn't a veteran?
The US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps all predate the official birth our our nation, and they have always existed. To pretend otherwise is ignorance.
still had a constitution, though. ain't that some shit?
The Army, Navy and Marines predate that constitution by 12 years, and the latter would not exist and would have no meaning without the blood, sweat and sacrifices of the former.
ignorance like that is an embarrassment to this great nation.
I agree, I'm embarrassed to be associated with you.
Wow, someone's dredging up ancient history. Wonder which blog linked this.
The e-mail is surprisingly agreeable compared to our normal fare, too. We should treat our soldiers with respect, as people, and not as symbols to silence anyone concerned about the country's war fever.
I object only on one point: The Constitution enshrines our principles, and the military protects those rights (although we are threatened with invasion less often than some commenters seem to believe), but without all those reporters, preachers, organizers, lawyers, and poets, we would not be a nation today that respects the rights of blacks, of women, and of all people.
Not every problem starts with a gun, and not every problem is solved with one.
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