In the grand scheme of things, I am a nobody. I am part of a military family that supports and loves a member of this country's military. I am but a person who wishes her loved one a safe and fast deployment. I am a person who says goodbye more times than I say hello. I am one out of many that sends care packages, manages on her own, worries about the outcome within a 6 month period. I am part of that group of people that you and many others, have so poignantly criticized and remarked on either our lifestyle and or the work our loved ones do for this country.
Now I know that a lot you have recanted some of your comments in the past couple days, but the fact of the matter is, is that you said it. And once you say something, it sticks with people. Words can come back to haunt you. Most of the remarks and comments come from people who have no idea what its like to serve in a military, let alone know what it's like to live in that lifestyle. So the comments made only concretes the idea that people still have misconceptions about the military and it's families.
In the past couple of days, the conversation that has prevailed in wake of "American Sniper" have been sometimes interesting, but also somewhat very sad. Thanks to Mr. Moore and a slew of other people, those misconceptions people had about the military were brought to light. Comments like " Well all military are just murderers and torturers"or " This whole "Following Orders" business goes against the morality of the situation" and even " Well military members are getting all these benefits, why can't I" There are so many more, that to be honest they hurt my brain just thinking about. But it is the "Coward" comment that irks me the most.I have heard it not just from Mr. Moore but from other people. It concerns me not only because I am a wife of a service member, but as someone who proudly supports the Veterans of this country.
SO let me clear the air by stating some facts to those who walk around taking about something they know nothing about. Yes our military is trained in combat. Its a military. They need to know how to point and shoot a gun or defend themselves when in a situation that requires them to do so. But thanks to previous wars there are rules of lawful combat. Thanks to the Geneva Convention. War is a horrible business. But it happens. Along with war comes people who are bad apples. The ones who do horrible bad things that are against the law. But that is not say that every single member of the military is like that. As for following orders, the orders given, are followed by the rules of lawful engagement. There are times where mistakes are made or that the situation is different than initially thought. Part of being in the military is following orders. There are going to be orders that you will not like, but military members took an oath when they joined up. An oath that they swore to, to protect and serve their country's freedoms and it's people. We have a volunteer military. It doesn't mean that it's mandatory to serve. So you do have the right choose whether or not you want to serve in it or not. SO when you reserve the right to not join, that doesn't give you the right to treat the ones who did,enlist with disrespect. As for the "benefits", well I think that protecting a country from the harsh realities a lot of other countries are facing is worth something?
Now again, in the arena that consists of the likes of Michael Moore and the others who have significant presence in this country, I am but one person. A speck. But I am a speck with a voice.And since it seems that thanks to a movie that highlights the need for more support for PTSD programs for our Veterans, we are getting the backlash from people who don't understand. If it were the only thing that could have been taken out of that movie, it is the need to bring mental health into the spotlight for our Veterans. War does horrible things to a person's mind. Whether or not you see Kyle as a murderer, because of the job he was ordered to do, that is your perspective. But most of us who have either read his book or have watched the movie, see a man broken. See a man who came back from hell, only to be criticized for how he dwelt with his PTSD. Thanks to political agendas, those men and women that get called up to do their duty, are often forgotten when they return. Or they get called cowards and other horrible names simply because they did what they thought was right.
Whether or not you agree with this country's decision to go to war or not, its not the Veterans or the military members you are angry with. Its with the people who make the decisions to go to war. The ones who make decisions for the country. Washington. Politicians. The military is just following the orders that have been passed down them through the chains of command. Let Washington know how disgruntled you are. Stop voting in people who make it their business to ship our troops off to war all for the sake of money.People tend to forget the good things our military does do when in a foreign country. But don't take it out on the lower management. As that is what the military is, sadly.
I will say this..
There should never be a time that a returning Veteran should ever be called a Coward.Period. Especially by anyone that has never enlisted or served. There should never be a time where Veterans are treated with so much disrespect that they wonder if their own country has turned their backs on them. Never should the people who protect your freedoms be called anything less than honorable.
So with that, to Micheal Moore and the others, it is with love from us the military families, that we take your comments, retractions, criticism to heart. As it will make us even more louder to prove to you and so many others, that our military deserves so much more. It deserves to have it's country behind them, as they defend your right to your freedoms. Which includes calling them cowards.
No comments:
Post a Comment