Posted on 02/21/2007 12:13:35 PM PST by dynachrome
Subject: FW: [ Hope Rides Alone ...
Hello Everyone, I wanted to share an article my son Eddie sent me from Iraq. I was not going to send it out
through the usual means; I'm looking to have this published somehow. I just felt after
reading it again this morning that I wanted people to begin reading it and begin/continue to
pray for our brave men and women in uniform. I'm not sure how many letters or articles
you've ever read from the genre of "News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've
ever read, including all of America's wars. As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son
who had written it. My emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my
little boy (22 years old) has become this man. He is my hero. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than ever. God bless, David
Hope Rides Alone By Eddie
I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell
the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that
watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands
are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of
taking the lives of others.
I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to
me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and
yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am
stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it
calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.
There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions tha t are not
my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And
I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same
streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not. And to think, I
volunteered for this... And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.
But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of
the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality
that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the
streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who
compare our President to Hitler.
I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest
of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they kn ow nothing
about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands
of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls,
because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen
years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.
People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic
ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war,
there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from
the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military
Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and
fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died
since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the
inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy
changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from
the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we
defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing
our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from
society...and they are becoming our enemy.
Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this
war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war,
but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation
with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times;
some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it
is interfering with our war.
Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the internet...and there is no outrage,
but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and
sometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.
It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so
obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no
matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last
time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the
leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up
their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that
Bush was right .
America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the
world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to
sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned
in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to
sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a servicemember,
its life as usual...the war doesn't affect you.
But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece
together what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then? Where will
the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple
years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the
deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewh ere far away, where the
horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things
they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America
have willingly taken upon their shoulders.
We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety,
security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in.
Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply
with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has
given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But
the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone.
We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than
sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars.&nb sp; It's supporting our President, our
troops and our cause.
Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it
can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a
country, as a people, if it doesn't. Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the
bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight! Isn't that what America is
about anyway?
Thanks to freeper Extexasredhead for this.
extexasredhead: Here ya go!
Redrover: ping. Would the list be interested in this?
It's pretty sad that you posted this over an hour ago and it only has 4 views. Geez.
Posted it on my weblog at http://auntiecoosa.blogspot.com.
Maybe it will strike a nerve somewhere.
The reality is that the Geneva Conventions are obsolete, now if not on the day they were promulgated. And that is the case because war is now so absurdly destructive that nobody who will abide by the Conventions is willing to provoke the US enough to get involved in a war with us. Only a clash of cultures which easily transcends the Geneva Conventions can cause a modern war.Military operations without uniforms or even in US military uniforms, human shields, taking up fighting positions in schools, hospitals houses of worship, and in historical/cultural landmarks all are par for the course for an enemy of the United States.
There is plenty to comment on. Not only on the Geneva Conventions (above) but on the treacherous nature of Big Journalism, which the article discusses. The First Amendment is much discussed, but Big Journalism actually views it as a loophole, not a principle. If they believed in the principle, they would be opposed to "campaign finance reform" and to the "fairness" doctrine.The Fairness Doctrine is the logical extension of the licensing of speech by the FCC - but that licensing of speech is itself illogical when considered in light of First Amendment principle. And Campaign Finance Regulation is directly counter to the principles of free press and free association. Like Broadcast speech licensing, it is predicated on the assumption that journalism is objective. The First Amendment itself makes no sense if the government has the authority to decide who is objective.
To have our newspapers - and the broadcast journalists who cloak their own illegitimacy by mimicing the properly unlicensed free press - promote the subversion of the First Amendment is indeed a scandal. Since one of the Justices in the 5-4 majority (as well as one of the four in the minority) have been replaced by Bush, there is hope at least of a reversal of McCain-Feingold. And if indeed the Democratic Congress reimposes the Fairness Doctrine, we will have to go to court to try to have the Supreme Court review the legitimacy of all regulation of speech - whether it be the literal press or in-person speech or whether it be the FreeRepublic.com web site or (licensed or "pirate") broadcasters.
But the bottom line of Big Journalism will always control its perspective. Big Journalism is in the business of persuading us that it reports objectively, and also in the business of promoting its own importance. Since all it does is talk, Big Journalism inflates the importance at the expense of those who do - whether it is producing fuel or food or our other necessities, or whether (as with the soldier) it be providing the vital service known as security.
IOW, far from being objective Big Journalism is interested in criticizing those who serve in the military as well as those who provide services and goods of varying degrees of utility to the wellbeing of the public. And that interest coincides with the interest of the leftist politician, the union leader, and the plaintiff lawyer.
"Posted it on my weblog"
Thanks. Please credit freeper extexasredhead who sent me the email.
I have had a couple of requests that this thread be moved to news/activism and labeled a vanity. If you could, the originator, extexasredhead, and others would be appreciative. (me, too!)
"only has 4 views"
You never know. I thought this would draw a pretty good response. Whoever the soldier is, he is dead on. (OTH I have posted what I thought was fluff and started a near flame war)
I will spread the word about this in my work place.
God Bless!
Amazing letter.
Most of us here support Eddie and his mission. He must not despair because of Cindy Sheehan or Al Franken.
My son will be commissioned as a Marine Corps officer in May. He and I both know where he'll be sent although we haven't been notified yet.
Eddie, you've got reinforcements coming.
Done. Next time use the abuse button to get our attention. You'll get faster results.
Thanks,
AM
Excellent.
This is not a real email. You are doing a discredit to post something like this that is not real.
I have been on FR for many years, and this does not pass the test.
Give the authentication to Jim Robinson, have him verify...and I will believe.
Posts like this just hurt our side.
The press has worked very carefully to broaden this gap and make Americans feel that the military and the war are something "out there" that is just an annoying thing that appears on their TV screens every so often and has no relevance to them. The author is absolutely right about the problems this attitude creates.
See #15
Where is the link for this supposed email?
Incapable of a simple search?
http://www.newmediajournal.us/guest/e_jeffers/02012007.htm
Wow! is there a reason to be nasty? There is no link up at the top of the first post like there is supposed to be.
Nothing.
Nada.
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