None More Deserving Than They

I am furious right now... fire-breathing, crimson visual field, eyeball-spinning livid.

I just read a Blog entry condemning those of us who "worship heroes", specifically, the brave men and women who serve as Soldiers, who "go to war, kill, and are killed in the name of freedom". The Blogger then proceeds to say,

"People bow to dead bodies, put them on a pedestal, teach their children to worship death and destruction, and to be as they are, loyal to the legacy of the deathbringers.

To be loyal to history, to be proud of the sheep they are."

The Blogger then asserts that their respect goes to what they term, "Peaceful warriors. Soldiers of freedom and life" ~ inclusive of deserters and a popular female singing group ~ who refuse to kill under any circumstances and prefer to "fight" for such things as free speech by using their brains instead of guns.

As both a Veteran and former police officer... and more importantly, as a citizen of Earth and a passionate advocate of humanity, I'd like some time for rebuttal.

First of all, I resent the Blogger's wide-sweeping reference to the respect many have for our Soldiers as "worship". I "worship" only one thing... my Creator. I respect my fellow man... even those with whom I bitterly disagree. And I GREATLY respect those brave men and women willing to put their lives on the line so that this Blogger and I can diametrically oppose one another... and freely express ourselves in both spoken and written words without fear of imprisonment or persecution for having done so.

This Blogger and I foundationally disagree on the concept of "freedom" . They seem to believe that any form of law/regulation and associated enforcement of same is an infringement upon us and therefore, we are not free. That is true... in a Utopian world, all men and women could be completely free... including being wholly unrestrained by terms of rules, laws, mores, and values imposed by others... IF we all agreed that anything goes and wholeheartedly embraced a belief in peace at all costs. There would be no need for Soldiers... no need for Law Enforcement.... no need for Legislators.

I join the Blogger in longing for a more Utopian existence... and agree that "Blessed are the Peacemakers". I'm the first one to urge and commend ALL of us to use our minds in lieu of guns if and whenever that is at all possible.

But this is the real world... and thus far, it has been anything but Utopian. From Cain and Abel on, man has known no bounds in his determination to judge, pigeonhole, and condemn his fellow man, wrest land, power, and wealth away from those weaker than himself, and dominate, intimidate, terrorize, and ruthlessly impose his point of view, religious beliefs, prejudices, and personal concepts of "right and wrong" and "sin" upon everyone else. Our numbers have grown to billions on this planet... and we have yet to grasp the concept of "Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You", let alone make any collective, global effort to live it. In every country... from the richest and most powerful to the poorest and most likely to implode... man continues to lie, steal, cheat, rob, threaten, assault, rape, pillage, plunder, and kill his fellow citizens.

You can argue all you like that there are reasons behind these crimes and atrocities ~ poverty, poor parenting, a history of abuse, lack of education, addiction, hopelessness, helplessness, Twinkie toxicity, etc. And very often, there are. But in the name of Utopian freedom, are we to ignore these crimes and do nothing? Or would that rule only apply as long as we ourselves, our children, and others we love and care about are not victimized?

Yes, we must harness the power of our minds to deal with our own human failings. But until we globally succeed at that and bring about a sincere and abiding respect for one another and the peace it would bestow, we must also ask brave men and women ~ Law Enforcement Officers on the home front and Soldiers globally ~ to protect and serve. Just as we have seen the aftermath of disasters, a world devoid of Law Enforcement / Military presence would swiftly result in a complete dissolution of any modicum of civility and order and transform a once functioning, albeit flawed, society into a chaotic "Kill or be Killed / Survival of the Fittest", rioting mass of protoplasm.

On a global level, It would be lovely if we could do without Soldiers, indeed. And I'm the first to condemn a President and Government that lies to excuse sending them into an unjustifiable conflict. But I will never condemn THEM (the Soldiers) on the whole; perhaps the the greatest of of a plethora of reasons why being that without them, millions MORE Jewish, Gay, mentally ill, mentally retarded, minorities, disabled, elderly, and other innocents deemed "inferior" human beings would have been imprisoned and enslaved, starved, worked to death, "experimented on", and/or met their deaths by gunfire/poisoning/gas chambers/beatings/etc. And Hitler's regime would have swallowed up both the other Blogger's country and mine, just as he did France, Poland, and attempted to do to England. Soldiers... U.S. AND Allied... answered the call and stopped Hitler in his tracks after all U.S. Diplomatic efforts and attempts to ignore him failed miserably. I only regret that we tried to bury our heads in the sand and failed to get involved until our own shores were attacked. But that was not the fault of our courageous Soldiers... our citizenry and Government must shoulder the burden of that particular responsibility.

As one brave Soldier here at Writing.com so eloquently states below, he and the vast majority of his Comrades in Arms have nothing to do with the deception, political agendas, and lust for power that our Government may employ in committing our troops to a particular mission or conflict. Most Soldiers and Law Enforcement officers chose to be so in order to protect and serve their fellow man. Yes, there are occasional bad apples in their ranks ~ just as there are in every other human endeavor/culture/society... even from the "best" of families. That aside, the vast preponderance of Soldiers' numbers serve with immense honor, great humility, and consummate courage.

Whether we agree with a particular War/Conflict/Police Action or not... whether we believe them to be justifiable or whole scale, inexcusable maiming and killing... we have NO RIGHT to demean the courageous men and women... yes, the true HEROES.... who our country sends into battle. If you want to rail at and deny your respect and appreciation to someone in these matters... spew your venom at those who are truly responsible for the conflict in the first place... Governments and the citizens who fail to challenge, speak out against, and put a stop to the wrongs those Governments perpetuate.

I have seen this particular Blogger condemn a physician who was accused of sexually assaulting his female patients, and speak of what should be done to him as punishment. Is this not "violence", excusable only because it serves a purpose close to this particular Blogger's heart or mindset?

It is easy to be judgmental and ethereal about what is right and wrong when we are sitting warm in our homes, typing on keyboards... with no chance of being punished, persecuted, imprisoned, and possibly even being executed for it. We are as free as we can be... short of invoking the chaos of an all-out, "Every Man for Himself" way of life. One crucial reason why we enjoy these freedoms is because courageous men and women ~ our Soldiers and Law Enforcement Officers ~ are willing to risk life and limb and make HUGE sacrifices to keep us thus. If we want to spit on wrongdoers, it is not these men and women who deserve such dishonor... it is those among us so disengaged, self-indulging, and/or narcissistic as to allow them to be sent into battles that are unjust, self-serving, and/or brought upon ourselves.

Neither I nor nor any one I've ever known has ever "bowed to dead bodies, put them on a pedestal, taught children to worship death and destruction, and to be as they are, loyal to the legacy of the deathbringers." As a former police officer and a Veteran, though, I and many of my colleagues have knelt and wept over the bodies of innocent victims, prayed at their grave sites and those of our fallen comrades, taught children "The Golden Rule", and endeavored to protect our fellow man from the death-bringers.

"Loyal to history" and "proud to be a sheep" I am not. Mindful of history I am, indeed. As one of a vast multitude of "non-sheep people", I fervently believe we all have a duty to be thus, for the sake of not only ourselves but that of all of mankind. So, too, do we all have a duty to honor and demonstrate immense respect and appreciation for the courageous men and women willing to lay it all on the line every day on our behalf. I can think of no one in this world more deserving of it than they.

ID: 1349487   (Rated: E) A Soldiers Appreciation  Letter of appreciation from a soldier deployed in Iraq. by Boo Warren

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