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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 11/6/09

American Values: Upside Down or Just Twisted?

By Elaine Brower  Posted by Elaine Brower (about the submitter)       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   9 comments
Message Elaine Brower

Driving into work this morning, I saw some American flags at half-staff and couldn't stop thinking about the mess this government has created by invading countries, lying to people, and generally not giving a damn about humanity. The shocking, bloody, ambush of soldiers and civilians, allegedly by Army Major Nidal Malik Hassan is yet another horrific chapter in our nation's history of mass murders. But it is how that chapter is currently being written by the media that has immense implications for who and we are as a nation.

A tragedy occurred yesterday at Ft. Hood, the largest Army Base in the world. A US Army Major, who is a psychiatrist treating soldiers returning from the war zones, allegedly went on a "shooting spree" at the Soldiers Readiness Center located on the base. He walked into the center, where the soldiers were preparing for upcoming deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and allegedly opened fire with 2 hand guns killing 13 and wounding 30.

Last night I was riveted to the live broadcast from Ft.Hood watching this story unfold. I was angry, sad, outraged and completely lost as I tried to understand what had just happened. I thought immediately of the almost 9 years of war and multiple deployments that these soldiers have experienced in the abyss of hell, returning to find themselves never to be the same, bankrupt, homeless or helpless faced with relatively no support from the public or the government.

As a military family member, my marine son doing 3 tours in the war on terror, I realize that less than 1 % of all Americans have a loved one involved in these wars and occupations. Some have suffered the ultimate sacrifice, some just suffer. We live in a world where no one wants to acknowledge our pain and we must "stay strong and support our loved ones who volunteered to serve in the military. But I have to deal with co-workers who want to party.

Arriving in downtown Manhattan this morning where I work, you would have never guessed the worst shooting in history happened just 12 hours before. Today, of all days, the New York Yankees are on parade for winning the World Series. Number 27 for them. The streets are overloaded with thousands of fanatical fans, wearing their Yankee garb, smiling, and generally overjoyed that their baseball team won. What the hell is going on here?

Mike Bloomberg, who threw out the constitution and trampled all over the will of the people by declaring a third term and spending $100 million on a campaign to steal City Hall, decided that today they would honor the Yankees with a ticker tape parade through the "Canyon of Heroes down Broadway right to the front of my building. How dare he? And how dare the Yankees accept this invitation. Having a parade is disrespectful and downright disgusting. And the flag over City Hall flies high and proud with thousands of police on the streets. So where is all the "I support the troops banter?

There was just a massive shooting at a military base, as well as the deadliest month in Afghanistan, and they are throwing a party which will cost us millions of more dollars in police presence and overtime.

I reflect back on what happened to this Major that made him choose "death by cop , although he is alive and on a ventilator. We can only speculate on how he could have been driven to this horrific deed. Of course we are getting the spin from the pundits and the pentagon. We listen to all the garbage spewed from the media. Major Hasan is a Muslim, immediately they conjured up stories of how al Qaeda has been instructing members of the military to do just what he did and that he could have been getting instructions from them either through the internet or some terrorist cell. Or that he was on some sort of personal "jihad because he did not want to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan and that was his biggest nightmare. Footage of him in what is said to be "traditional Muslim garb suddenly appeared on CNN. If he had on his fatigues or scrubs, would they have aired that footage? And now stories of him shouting ˜Allah Akbar' or "god is good , as he was shooting, are emerging from alleged eyewitnesses.

As recently as May of this year, a US Soldier at Camp Liberty in Baghdad killed 5 of his comrades on a shooting rampage at a psychiatric clinic. He was a white christian, did that get announced?And there are hundreds of other unreported "friendly fire incidents. Could it be that soldiers have just had enough?

The Major worked hard, we were told, to become a doctor, spent 25 years serving his Country, and ultimately was harassed by fellow soldiers because he practiced Islam. He was seeking discharge from the military, but had no luck. He heard stories from soldiers, their deepest darkest horror stories of how they killed people in the Middle East. Do we need anyone to tell us what has happened here. When people "go postal they do it because they have had enough. He was obviously disturbed by what he had heard, did NOT want to go fight in an unjust, illegal and immoral crusade against people who shared his faith, and why would he.

In any event, America goes on, unrepentant and unsympathetic. This is a Country determined to be devoid of any feelings, emotions or caring for anything other than the almighty dollar and having fun, and people keep electing officials who continue the madness. So, what does that tell us about America? Nothing good.

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Elaine Brower Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Anti-war activist, mother of three combat tour US marine; member of the national steering committee for the "World Can't Wait" www.worldcantwait.net and member of Military Families Speak Out (my opinions do not reflect the national position of MFSO).
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