Remember "Don't ask, don't tell"? As you know, it was a policy oriented supposedly on behalf of gay- and lesbian-oriented members of our armed forces. What it really provided was cover to save the military from dealing with the issue.
Since 2002, DADT has become part of the American argot; cover for all manner of issues that demanded uncovering oversight inquiry. During the period from 2002 until the Democrats regained leadership control of the House and Senate, I tuned in to the three C-SPAN stations to watch the GOP maneuver and contort their best to incorporate DADT as an oversight mantra that enabled the Bush administration to keep on keepin' on; not a single serious hearing was held, not a single serious question was ever raised by the GOP.
The air and the airwaves were suffuse with calls to "Support the troops." And so long as nothing more than putting a yellow ribbon decal on the bumper, or sticking a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker on the bumper, or excoriating any and all who paused to ask on the morality of abusing the gullibility of our volunteer force as unpatriotic, cowardly, un-American most seemed more than eager to . . . "Support the Troops."
Talk about tawdry! Talk about twisting a notion inside out! Talk about just talk!
Just do not ever, ever, ever contemplate asking me to pay a dime more in taxes, or detour from my SUV trip to the mall, and you bet: SUPPORT THE TROOPS! All the way!
The other evening, when the subject of the disgrace of the barracks the 82d Airborne had to return to, from their 15-month tour in the outbacks of Afghanistan, I was asked my thoughts. "For the entirety of the three years I served, every Saturday morning was a barracks' inspection morning. The lieutenant would come through, and sure enough, he'd white glove it. If a trace of grey adhered to the fingertips of the glove . . . The YouTube video (URL below) just would never have been imaginable. Someone's head would have rolled."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46vYZFU1Dew
I know many of you are busy. That noted, I will contend that not a one of you are so busy that you cannot take the six or seven minutes from your day to view the video, posted by Ed Frawley, father of Sgt.Jeff Frawley, that depicts precisely how the Bush administration imagines what "Support the Troops" is to be defined. We know all about Haliburton and KBR, and Katrina and New Orleans, and "the economy is strong," and how "the United States does not torture, and how we just want this terrible nightmare to end, hoping that one more piece of embarrassing evidence of the utter incompetence and corruption that has been the single constant, doesn't force its way into our consciences and conscientiousness.
Please . . . click on the link. And even if it's nothing more than bringing it into the conversation with your relatives and associates, do that as your contribution to Supporting the Troops. Thanks.
- Ed Tubbs
Palm Springs, CA
