Would I Do it Again?

Long ago in the ‘sixties I volunteered for the US Marine Corps. I went thru the very physical & rugged training and donned my uniform to ‘do my duty’. I sacrificed over four years of my life, and much of my health and well-being in my military service for my country, the United States of America. I had some high times and some low times. I do not regret for one moment my service to my country, and I can hold my head up high knowing I ‘did my duty’ when many, many others did not, some of whom spat on troopers coming home from the Vietnam War.

Many of the people I left behind found many reasons not to serve, or be drafted. They got deferments, or a medical exception or something. In other words they quite willingly, thankfully and happily let others go off on their behalf and in their places. Many of those who went in their places now have names incised on “The Wall” in Washington, DC today.

Those will never come home. Never. Many others came home maimed in body, mind and spirit. Many have died early as homeless on the streets, persued by demons who chased them unto death.

Yet, amazingly today those same stay-at-home 'patriotic' Neo-Cons go about screaming loudest of all, blathering about patriotism and waging war to ‘bring Democracy and Freedom to Iraq and the Middle East, and ‘if you aren’t for us you are against us!” What a complete crock!

They are very wonderfully and aptly named “The Chickenhawk Brigade”. Many of their leaders serve high positions in our current administration today or served similar ones in the recent past. They never served where it really, truly counts and always asked someone else do the hard, bloody, dirty work. Characteristically, they are doing exactly the same thing today.

To name just a few, they are:
Our "Fearless Leader"
Richard Cheney
Karl Rove
Newt Gingrich,
John Ashcroft
Jeb Bush,
Ronald Reagan
Dennis Hastert
Dick Armey
Tom Delay
Roy Blount
Bill Frist
Mitch McConnell
Rick Santorum
Trent Lott
Kenneth Starr
-and the list goes on, and on, and on

When I came home I found many of those who never served, had gone on to college and advanced their careers. They had a huge head start on me. When I got discharged out of the Corps I started out from scratch. Of course I had one big advantage - the GI Bill which was a great help. Without that I never would have been able to go.

Did I do my duty back in the ‘sixties to protect the rights of other Americans, even including Queers, Lesbians and Perverts, and the current crop of fervently aggressive Neo-Cons?

You are very damned right I did!

Today, I realize more than ever my military service and sacrifice was to protect ALL the rights of ALL of these and more, including:

Queers,
Lesbians,
Texans
Other Rednecks
Neo-Cons & other perverts,
Blacks,
Asians,
Mexicans
(who all speak "Mexican" according to our fearless leader
who claims he speaks 'Mexican' himself! I'd sure hope so
because he damned sure has a hard time with regular English!)
Africans,
NAACPers,
ACLUers,
Commies,
Pinkos,
McCarthyites,
Democrats,
Republicans,
Independents,
Greenies,
Greenpeacers,
Sierra clubbers,
Yankees,
Crackers,
Southerners,
New Englanders,
Californicators,
Left Wingers,
Right-wingers,
Reaganites,
Nixonians,
Clinton Republicans,
Carterites,
Union members,
Freelancers,
Jane Fonda
Elies
etc.,
etc.,

Would I do it again? Well maybe. And actually, quite happily if I was allowed make use of the Neo-Cons as moving targets on a special range for rubber bullets.