Right or wrong, our country.....

Well, another long period of time between updates….not that I am busy or anything! The reality of it is that you have a couple of options – work yourself silly, collapse into bed every night and toss and turn while you think about all the personal stuff like letter writing, phone calls, and presents for people back home that should have been taken care of before you hit the sack. OR, work 12 hours a day, workout, get that personal time to do everything, then toss and turn when you go to the rack, because you are gonna get reamed for all the paperwork you didn’t get to the day before, as well as dealing with how lonely you feel now that you reconnected with everyone you miss. No rest for the wicked I guess!
This is gonna be a bit more observational – not any real news about my situation or daily travails. We have access to AFN – Armed Forces Network for TV at work, and on our desktops we can check in with CNN or Fox news, and in the chow hall they have TV’s as well. We obviously have internet connections, but the majority of folks get their news from Stars and Stripes – it’s easy to pick up on your way to eat, it’s free and portable too. There were two interesting articles as of late though. The first is one about Cher - http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37757&archive=true She apparently has turned into quite the crusader for the troops – even testifying before congress on the need for the Marines to buy better Kevlar helmets. She has decided to lend her “recognition” to the cause and is very supportive of troops in the field. She is against the war however – a growing dichotomy that we see today in society. “Lets support the troops, even if we don’t believe in this war”. This is apparently to make up for the travesty of how our returning soldiers were treated after Vietnam.
It is an interesting viewpoint. When you dig into it however, it reeks of liberalism, social decay, and elitist garbage. If I understand the argument correctly, what we are telling the returning men and women is that we don’t agree with the government’s decision to send you over there, and we hate the idea that you may have killed civilians and enemy terrorists. We feel uncomfortable being an occupying force and really don’t want us to deploy troops anywhere because we all just need to get along. I personally will not volunteer to go to war, and don’t really understand why you did. (unless of course you only did it for a college education or job skills). Finally, we understand that you are too poor, destitute, stupid, or otherwise ignorant of the worldly issues and why war really is outdated and couldn’t help yourself because the evil military complex ordered you to fight, and therefore you had to do it. We forgive you, and pity you, but still support you, just not the government.
If that is the “support our troops” concept used by the left, they can keep it. Clausewitz said that war is just the logical extension of a government’s policy. Carrot and stick so to speak – you work to influence others to your way of thinking with the ultimate threat being a tomahawk missile landing in your living room. Trust me, no military member wishes for war, and relishes battle. That once again is Hollywood. Your average military member wishes, hopes and strives for peace, but understands that when duty calls they will be ready for war. It speaks volumes about those that have the Hollywood version of “support our troops”.

1SGT Ben Grainger understands this. While a “little” tongue-in-cheek, he has started his own “pseudo-religion” of Americantology: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37864&archive=true. Very simple, very direct, little proselytizing. We are here, deal with it. We don’t like to kill people, but in defense of our country we will. Very reminiscent of Commodore Stephen Decatur – hero of the Barbary Wars (i.e. where the reference to Tripoli is drawn from in the Marines Hymn – “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli…”) “Between 1816 and 1820, Decatur served as a Navy Commissioner. During his tenure as a Commissioner, Decatur became active in the Washington social scene. At one of his social gatherings, Decatur uttered an after-dinner toast that would become famous: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!" (Reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Decatur) It is interesting to note in the story how he has come under fire for being “insensitive”. First of all, I have never known any Marine to be especially concerned about being “sensitive” to the needs of the bastards shooting at them. Second of all, it furthers the earlier point of why we are here – we aren’t here to be sensitive, we are here to kill terrorists, and create enough peace to allow the natural desires of families and societies to better themselves. The Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine on the ground understand that, are proud to serve and don’t want your pity. Support is great when it is heartfelt, and for the vast majority of people, that is what we see – nervous wives, concerned fathers, worried grandmothers, brothers and sisters at home. Worried for their loved ones, worried that one day they will see the base chaplain pull into their driveway. But through all their worry, they are proud that their Marine, Sailor, Airman or Soldier is making the selfless determination that there really is a greater good, a higher calling, and a call to duty that requires their service. That is the support we relish – admiration of a job well done, not the empty belief that we are but a collection of ignorant puppets strung along by an evil scheming government. I for one will be looking to join the local chapter of Americantology when it starts up – hell, I may just look to spread the “good word” on my return. Because no matter whether or not I tend to agree with the direction, leadership, or policies of my country, right or wrong she is my country.