Posted on 07/04/2012 2:43:18 PM PDT by Kaslin
WASHINGTON (AP) — If you have military-age children who have not served in this decade's wars, then you owe a debt — meaning money — to those who did. That's the premise of a new fundraising effort by three wealthy American families who want to help U.S. veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Every non-military family should give something, they said. The affluent should give large sums. No one should think of it as charity, but rather a moral obligation, an alternative way to serve, perhaps the price of being spared the anxiety that comes with having a loved one in a war zone.
"We have three able-bodied, wonderful, wonderful children, all of whom are devoted to doing very, very good things around social justice; and we could not be more proud of them," said Philip Green, a local businessman who devised the fundraising idea. "We're also delighted that none of them had to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan."
Green says he and his wife came to look at that as unfair: "I realized that there were parents just like me down the street, down the block ... who did not have that luxury" and were suffering sleepless nights and anxiety, "which I was able to avoid."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Keywords in the article:
‘social justice’
Although I tend to agree, it’s kind of crass say it out loud, like the man on TV trying to guilt me into helping Izzak go to school, be fed rice and drink clean water. There has never been a generation in my family, to my knowledge, that didn’t serve in uniform, but I don’t think you owe me money because of that. I knew what going into the service entailed, my father was in three wars.
Another lame, poorly written AP article, JMHO. I’m all for donating to important causes...I like Gary Sinese’s efforts myself and have given....But these people sound like dopes. Really bugs me when people say that others should “send THEIR kids” to the military. It’s a choice that adults NOT their parents make.
Maybe I read it wrong, but they’ll get no $$$ from me. Let them give away all their money to whomever they want....
Looks to me like the Greens and their “green” cohorts are all about the “greens”
Green, president of health care consultancy PDG Consulting, and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs, head of geriatrics at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, teamed with two other couples to start the fund-raising. Together, they donated a total of $1.1 million. Contributing with Green and Cobbs were Glenn Garland, head of Texas-based CLEAResult energy consultancy, and wife, Laurie, and Jim Stimmel, CLEAResult’s executive vice president, and wife, Patty.
Whaddya wanna bet this is not about “Charity” but rather getting that name out?
People always need to invent winners and losers but life isn’t always like that.
I am sure many who served are doing much more well than I am. Many many many.
I will retire next year after 24 years of serving. I don’t ask for anything from anyone except maybe a thank you and then let me enjoy the freedoms that I served to defend. And please use your unalienable rights. Hold our elected officials accountable and make them vote to better America.
After 24 years of being told what to do I just want the government to leave me alone.
Ashamed about not serving your Country?
Send money, that will help you sleep at night.
That’s how I read the story.
This will quickly snowball into China-style mandatory conscription.
I smell a skunk here.Helping the families of those who’ve lost their lives in Iraq/Afghanistan is,IMO,a solemn duty of *all* Americans.In fact helping our vets and their families has *always* been such.But the way this piece is written doesn’t smell right.Not even close!
It’s not the parents’ decision whether their children go into the military or not. If they want to help the troops, go to “AnySoldier.com” and send a box of what the troops are asking for, but skip the guilt.
If it’s so unfair, why not just reinstitute the draft?
I got out at 20, but this line says it all.
After 20 years of being told what to do I just want the government to leave me alone.
Jack
And as to people paying monet to charities because of their guilty feelings .
Put on the damn uniform!!!
Excellent point, but I also read it as self guilt
I guess I know too many people like that to give them that sort of credit. Greed, not guilt.
Well the concept has been cleared by the US Supreme Court.
You are free to choose to serve your country, but if you don’t pay the TAX!
What's astonishing to me is the "factoid" in the article that the military does not WANT 75% of the 17-24-year-olds that apply nowadays...how are these "kids" being raised? That must just refer to the quality of people who actually apply...for every good one, there are 3 "dead-enders" who are "obese", uneducated (not a high school grad) or have drug history/juvenile rap sheet...
Also interesting (if true) that the "population" in the armed services is similar to the general population re: minority groups....that's not what you'd think from reading the newspapers, is it!
If parents feel guilty because their children haven’t served in the military, then it’s probably because the parents have actively worked against that choice, whether for ideological or financial reasons or simply fear. If that’s where someone is, they should contribute to a private fund - help the serving troops, or Wounded Warriors, or anything that is not just giving money to the government.
We have always presented military service to our children as a highly honored option, but not the only legitimate choice. Our 21-year-old is serving (Coast Guard); our 18-year-old presently doesn’t plan on it, but the possibility is always there for him and all the others.
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