Facebook Allowing Anti-Military Registrations?

There is a site on Facebook, they have a growing membership, and their page begins:

 

“Does the thought of hero worshipping our armed forces make you want to vomit your spleen out?

Are you fed up of being told that soldiers deserve constant gushing praise?”

 

This site believes that they are for the common people who think there is too much praise and “hero worship” heaped on our armed forces.

 

Freedom of Speech is one of the freedoms our Soliders, Sailors, Marines , Coast Guardsmen, and Airmen defend.  These folks believe they have the right to degrade our service men and women.  How many of the members have served?  Of those that have been in uniform, how many were honorably discharged? 

 

See, typically, sites such as this are started by either someone who has never served or by someone kicked out of the service under conditions not considered honorable.

 

What makes a hero?

 

Is it a firefighter, willingly running into burning buildings to save people?

 

Or is it a police officer who faces criminals willing to kill anyone who gets in the way of them in the commission of their crimes?

 

There are some who believe the overpaid sports figures are heroes.

 

Personal beliefs aside, each individual can choose their own heroes, however, in doing so, they should not be downgrading those others may select as their own.  Of those listed, all are heroes to be honored, all but the sports figures, their often seven to ten digit salaries are their reward for doing their job.

 

Our Armed Forces today is strictly voluntary.  This is not a slur against those drafted this is just to address the website with today’s military.  The author has nothing but the utmost respect for all past and present veterans, regardless of their reason for joining.

 

Not many understand the hardships experienced by the military.  This is not just the sleeping-in-desert-heat that most would find too stifling type of hardship.

 

A newly graduated recruit lives at the poverty level.  Their wages many times not enough to survive on, particularly if they have a spouse and maybe a child.  Often times they have to seek government aid in the form of food stamps, WIC, and other programs to help them.

 

In return, what does this new recruit get?  They get long hours, being at the low end of the chain of command (actually, they are at the bottom) they also get all the jobs nobody senior to them wishes to perform.  Cleaning toilets (there are toilets at every command to clean), floors, galley duty, and any other number of things.

 

Training, their days are filled with learning their new duties, standing watches, and deploying if their command is one that deploys.

 

Add on top of that daily or weekly Physical Readiness Testing/Training.  Many commands today place as much emphasis on running a mile and a half as well as proficiency in their job.

 

Our military members do not sit around, on a lark, discussing what country they wish to invade.  They don’t throw darts at a map to select this country. 

 

Plain and simple, America’s military members FOLLOW ORDERS.  The decision to invade does not come from the Soldier cleaning the toilets, or even those more senior at that command.  They come from one place, the Oval Office and must have permission of Congress to do so.

 

It seems some misguided individuals have forgotten what happens when a terrorist entity sets their sights on a country.  The United States has been in the sights of al Qaeda for decades, as a result, we have had bombings at the World Trade Center, TWICE!  The second and final time caused the collapses and the deaths of so many as a result.

 

Our troops are overseas in a desperate attempt to keep the terrorists from reaching American soil again; attempting to stop them there before they make it here.

 

Anyone who believes this country is safe is living in a fantasy world.  Even today the news is filled with stories of terrorist attacks around the world.   These are a people who have been brainwashed into believing there is honor in killing yourself as long as you take the “enemy” with you.

 

They have no country, no diplomatic resources available for negotiations.  If captured by these terrorist organizations, the captured individual is not entitled to Geneva Convention Regulation treatment.

 

In many cases, the captors eventually kill their prisoner.  Beheading, particularly publicly, is the favored method, in many cases.  Military members have had their lives ended in such fashion and then had their body drug through the streets.

 

Each and every person serving in the military has the potential to be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan, two of our “fronts” at this point in time. 

 

In return for their volunteering, they know they may be blown up by explosive devices, shot by snipers, or captured and beheaded for their attempts in keeping Americans free. 

 

What is this Freedom spoke so often about?  Freedom in the knowledge that someone is doing something to help ensure our country is safe; safe from those who wish nothing but harmful intent on our citizens.

 

The Freedom that citizens can go into high rises without constant fears of airplanes and hijackers from al Qaeda trying to collapse another structure, taking many more American lives.

 

The Freedom that our military is doing everything in their power, even risking their own lives so that American blood is not shed on American soil again by terrorist acts.

 

These same individuals endure hardships beyond imagination in this endeavor.  Sleeping in hot deserts, while those enjoying their freedoms languish in air conditioning comfort.

 

Separations from loved ones and home; missing birthdays, graduations, and funerals.  None of these days, weeks, or months can be recovered.  Once past, these days and events are lost forever.  The first tooth, first word, getting a driver’s license, all gone.  Their children grow without them seeing it or being there to guide them along the way for that period.

 

Christmas and Thanksgiving, thousands of miles apart from their families and friends.

 

Then there is the realistic side.  These same people, even with all they have endured so far, have more to endure.  Watching their friends die before their eyes, usually in the most nightmarish and grotesque ways.  These death scenes replaying in their dreams nightly.

 

If they are injured, not the severe injuries that immediately end their military career, but the injuries that leave a lingering symptom or problem;  a limp, hearing loss, PTSD, mental, and other health issues; they are guaranteed they will have to fight the bureaucracy to receive benefits they are entitled to!

 

Now, how do these Service Members compare as heroes to overpaid sports figures?

 

Hands down, Military members are more heroic in their selfless devotion to a country.  A country where those who live in the freedoms provided by these military members, in turn express their gratitude by starting or joining a website such as the one this article is about.

 

While Freedom of Speech should be fully supported, it is inappropriate that this slur remains on a site, hosted in Palo Alto, CA of this great country.

 

If you are not favorable of service members or this war (and it is possible to support the people without waving flags in support of the war),   you are always free to try another country.  It is guaranteed you will not find the same rights and freedoms in most other countries in this world. 

 

Instead of starting and/or supporting sights that look at our military in less than favorable ways, why not just worship your heroes and leave those of others alone?

 

This entry was posted on July 4, 2009 at 8:06 pm and is filed under In My Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.