This is important. I ranted yesterday about the controversy surrounding American Sniper, a movie I admitted not having seen, but I was trying to make a point about the vitriol in the debate over the portrayal of Chris Kyle in the film. Michael Moore seems to have initiated the discussion by pointing out that his uncle was killed by a sniper in World War II, and that neither snipers nor invaders were heroes. That, of course, opened the floodgates of attacks on Moore from numerous corners (and under various rocks). The most ridiculous allegation is that Moore is somehow anti-American and hates the troops. This weekend, Moore posted his response and stated that he makes a point of hiring veterans in his various businesses whenever possible; he hosts benefits for wounded warriors; he gives free admission to his movie theaters to active duty servicemen and their families (one of his theaters is actually showing American Sniper, meaning that people who hate Michael Moore for attacking the movie could conceivably go see it in a theater he owns) and giving copies of his movies for free to servicemen. If you think thats not a lot, what have YOU done? Contrast this with how the other side of this debate supports the troops, namely, by supporting them being sent to a pointless war of choice which our government lied us into, resulting in 4,482 DEAD troops, along with thousands injured, many severely, and then doing nothing for them once they came home, and now wants to send them BACK to Iraq. In his response this weekend, Moore deservedly called out those attacking him while ignoring what he personally has done to support the troops. Such as...to pick a name at random...Fox News. I wonder how many of the loudest voices insisting that Moore hates the troops come from right-wing politicians who (i) voted to send the troops to Iraq in the first place; (ii) voted to keep them there instead of bringing them home in 2005, 2006 and 2007; (iii) voted against the numerous veterans jobs bills which have failed to pass Congress since 2003; and (iv) voted against the recent bill to allocate money to prevent veteran suicides (such as Tom Coburn, who voted in favor of the war at every opportunity and yet said that the suicide prevention bill throws money away). At the risk of repeating myself from yesterday, please keep in mind that the freedoms which our heroic troops fight to protect include the right to criticize. And keep in mind also that saying you support the troops means nothing if all you do to support them is to attack people like Michael Moore. If you want to REALLY support the troops, might I suggest that you (I) hire them if youre in a position to do so; (ii) give to an organization like Wounded Warriors (its great that such an organization exists, but it would be better still if it didnt NEED to exist because we could count on the government to take care of wounded veterans) or some other group which has the best interests of returning soldiers as its purpose, such as the one below; and (iii) above all, STOP VOTING for people who want to send our soldiers to senseless and unnecessary wars of choice and then do nothing for them when they return. Just in the last few years, Congressional chickenhawks have opposed every withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq while ALSO proposing to send American ground troops to fight in Libya, Syria, Iran and Iraq again. Show real support for the troops and stop voting for these assholes. The next time you hear someone say that they support the troops, take a moment to think about what that phrase really means coming out of the lips of the person saying it.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 21:31:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015