Show your support

I get really pissed at people who claim to support their troops, or who are very pro-Iraq and war on terror, who do so from the comfort of their suburban home in the den watching football on cable, who have never served a day in their lives. The people who argue that the military isn't made up of uneducated, poor folks (it's NOT), but who used their own military age to let their parents pay for their college, to go to graduate or professional school, or who were anti military action during their military ages. The people who had a miraculous awakening when they had the birthday that put them over the maximum enlistment age, and suddenly realized that supporting the troops was a good thing, so long as they had the convenient excuse of not being able to serve themselves. Or the people who still are of enlisting age (it was increased to 42, so that encompasses a lot more people) who refuse to leave their high paying jobs (or even medium paying jobs), refuse to leave their home, or sacrifice any of their personal creature comforts to shoulder up next to those who they profess their gratitude for defending the right to possess those same comforts. In my opinion, these people are hypocrites of the worst kind, because they are willing to let someone else die for something they can't be bothered to do. Yet they feel they are somehow ok, because they SUPPORT the sacrifices these good soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines make on a daily basis.

I spent 8 years in the Air Force. During that time, I worked as many as 100 hours a week. I still managed to find a way to finish 2 associate's and 1 bachelor's degree while serving. After separation, I chose a new path - law school. I chose to enroll in law school full time, so that I could finish more quickly and get back to work to help my wife, who supports us by working while I am in school, better provide for our children. Yet, in spite of the fact that I am a veteran, and a veteran who knows how to think, I have my patriotism called into question by these same hypocrites who refuse to do what I did and what so many others have done by donning a uniform and declaring that they are willing to put their lives where their words go, because I dare to question the accuracy of what we are told by our CINC and his administration. I have been called a liberal because I disagree with what the president says. I am no liberal; I am an American, who belongs to no party, but who listens and reasons, and I believe that there are many questions out there that need answering; yet instead I hear oxymoronic rhetoric. Yet when I question this, I'm labeled instead of addressed.

Who is the less patriotic? The veteran who asks questions of the administration, or the civilian who supports a politician's war from his or her recliner?

For all you hypocrites out there, if you REALLY support the war, then shut up and show the troops that you mean it. Click here.