[hoosierham]

I side with those who say wear the traditional school garb for graduation and then get off the stage and reveal the blues.

Anything else is grandstanding.

Some of you may well be correct in that any marine could kick my butt,but that is not the sign of a good American.If you won't respect a difference of opinion then you have lost sight of the principles of this nation.

I fully realize the sacrifices being made by those who volunteer for military service,yet do not lose sight of how many other Americans go to work at dirty ,dangerous jobs every day for not a year or two but dozens.I speak of coal miners,mill workers,and other jobs in which many die and are maimed while trying to support their families.

Some fight and some make the tools needed for the fight.

[USMCVet]

I run into more than a few like yourself that seem to believe that being a Marine or a soldier or a sailor or an airman - particularly during a shooting war - is equivalent to any other job.

It isn't.

Where you might get hurt or die in any other "job", from roofer to swimming pool cleaner to factory worker - with higher risk going to cops and firemen in the big cities - no other position is as close to death or mutilation than our service men and women are enduring today.

The papers don't cover it in much detail but a simple visit to Arlington or the hospitals will show you the price these young people are bearing for all of us. It's not a "job", it's a knowing sacrifice carried out by these brave and patriotic young men and women and their families.

If you think that wearing the dress uniform to a public ceremony is "grandstanding" then you haven't paid enough attention to what the young man is preparing to endure.

We could use a lot more people like him.