http://thankasoldier.org/
Posted on 10/07/2007 11:52:30 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last Monday was a maddening day. The swimming pool heater was not working right and when I wanted to get my nightly swimming exercise before bed, the water was a bit cool. Plus, the water heater was broken and my shower was barely tepid.
I lay in bed sulking and then turned on the TV. Ken Burns's magnificent epic about American participation in World War II came on.
There were American children being starved in Japanese prison camps in the Philippines. American Marines getting blown to pieces by Japanese shells on Iwo Jima. American soldiers fighting and freezing at the Battle of the Bulge. American widows standing mournfully on their porches in Minnesota.
And I was complaining that my pool was not warm enough.
The thought just hit me like lightning. "Shut up," I said to myself. "Just shut up with your complaining about the unimaginably lush life you get to live. Shut up with your trivial complaints. You're not getting shot at by the Nazi SS. You're not getting machine gunned on a beach with no place to hide. You're not losing your father or son in a jungle far away.
"No, you live your sickeningly deluxe life thanks to those people who did that, and to their families -- the military family is the marrow in the backbone of America. And they barely complained at all."
I hate to say it, but I think a lot of us are like me. We just complain too darned much and are grateful too darned little. Whatever can we say to the men and women who gave their lives and their parents and children so we could live to complain?
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Yes it was...God Bless our soldiers past & present.
As bad as the actively hateful, in a way, are the mass of us who don't think enough about how different things would be without these men and women going off to die, cutting their lives short for our benefit. That Stein and the rest of us have luxuries is merely a side-effect. When we went to war in WW2, it wasn't because we were threatened by Nazis, but because we WOULD be; similarly, we didn't go to war because Saddam was going to show up in DC, but because the Middle East is careening towards the day when some mad mullah can and WILL attempt to wipe us out using nukes or biological weapons.
That that day will never come, or will at least be delayed, is because of our soldiers.
I make a point of saying I didn't serve on these threads because too often we have armchair warriors full of bluster who seem to have all the answers. I've never put it on the line the way these men and women have, but that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion about whether theirs was a noble effort or not.
In WW2, as now, these people who fought and fight do so for good reasons. Knowing that fills me with confidence in the mission.
Can Nancy Pelosi, with all her tossing around on TV today about how often she prays for our troops and their CinC, say that?
Think I’ll go to the mall...
This time of year in Iraq, the temperature is still in the 100s, and our troops don’t go outside the gate without wearing about 50 pounds of gear.
Amen! Canteen ping...
I love this. I had to go to a conference not too long ago. (I work with breast cancer patients and health care providers). Everytime I go out to visit with the public, I bring a flag. PERIOD. I never leave home without it. Anywhoozle, I had a volunteer from a very popular cancer foundation working with me for the day. As we set up our table with literature and shower cards, I pulled out my flag and its pole and proceeded to put it up. The volunteer quickly turned white and said, “You cant put that up Brinn, you just cant. We are here for people who have been touched by breast cancer”. I spun around and told her, “WE are here because of the Men and Women who have fought for us and continue to do so, would you be so kind as to help me put my pole together?”
Thought you would like that little story Star. I havent posted my lately, (still lurking on a daily basis).
Hope this finds you well.
WOW!! Good on’ ya DDG!!! I could just hug ya! What a perfect answer you gave - you were absolutely correct. We wouldn’t be able to do ANY of the good things that our country can do in this world if we didn’t have our military making sure we can continue to live safe and free.
Great story.... and good for you!
Hope you have a great day.
Full agreement.
Prayers lifted for them.
That's a darned good idea. We have 4 recruiting offices at our mall. I think a coupla pizzas would be a good way to say thank you to these guys and gals.
I think there’s a new conservative in the offing here....
http://thankasoldier.org/
Damned good idea. I think there's an office right down the street from the BellSouth Tower here in the A-Town. I might bring 'em Moe's instead of pizza though.
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