The chatty schizophrenic fraud known to all of us as the American media has crunched some numbers and determined that the public is bored with Iraq War coverage. Aside from the obvious reason that nothing good ever happens, the country’s chickenhawk self has become sick of having to see its own cowardly reflection in the mirror. Flexing muscles and practicing our war face, at one point we saw Tony Soprano staring back. That delusional self image slowly became real, slowly became Arty Bucco wearing a wiretap.
Picking through a pile of scrap metal, 110 degree heat somewhere in Iraq right now, a teenage soldier’s hoping to score some ‘ghetto armor’ for his Humvee. We’re sick of hearing about this sucker, right? Black and poor folk have been telling recruiters to go pound sand, and being the chickenhawks we Americans have become, there’s apparently nothing to add but words, prayers, apathy and excuses. That’s who we are when the President who started the war is reelected and there aren’t enough soldiers to fight it. Only half of one percent of the American population is needed to fully staff our military.
Fact is, to the sons and daughters of Republican moms and dads living in suburban red districts, riding in SUVs with ‘Support the Troops’ bumper stickers on them, the Iraq War might as well be a cartoon. They’ve already seen this episode and have started changing the channel. Oh, I’m sure they “think about the war” as King George II does “every-single-day“, but to the Marine reservist whose extended tour cost him his civilian job while he was in Iraq, it’s useless.
The myth our populace has become comfortable with is those fighting their war can be ’supported’ in the same way you would a child in the hospital having their tonsils out. Troops, training, equipment and planning win wars, but rather than enlisting, here in America the majority are going about it instead with ‘get well’ cards and bumper stickers. Always figuring it will just take care of itself, as we turn our gluttonous collective gaze on 4th of July fireworks extravaganzas that cost more than a year’s salary for most of the troops in Iraq today. While the troops can’t count on adequate vehicle or body armor, every community across the country gets their fireworks.
Why are we this far out of touch? One big reason is the unprecedented number of chickenhawks running the country right now. When I was a soldier, if the unit was in the field and you were in the rear, you put in seven day work weeks just like your brothers out in the woods. Your average American understands this concept, but quite typically that understanding isn’t followed up with disciplined, reverent action of any kind. Case in point, while our troops are redeploying on 12 and 18 month stretches in Iraq to account for recruiting shortfalls, King George II is racking up more vacation time than any President in our nation’s history. His pathetic, selfish example provides comfort to the very same voters who want the war, but don’t want to help ensure that we win it.
With an inexcusable lack of armor and recruits, diminished level of international support and an Iraqi Constitution being written that limits womens’ rights, you’d think the king would have more pressing matters to address than a buildup of brush along the fences of his ranch. But that’s what a chickenhawk does when the going gets tough. Robert Novak proved that much the other day on CNN. Anyone who’d seen a single episode of Crossfire before it was thankfully put out of its misery, knows full well that James Carville’s jive on this occasion was mild at best. Only after he ran away like the coward he is were we informed that questions regarding the Plame-leak investigation were going to be asked in the upcoming segment. he felt the heat and got the hell out of there.
Upon learning that the nation was under attack on 9/11, King George II wasn’t even that bold as he flat out froze for a full 7 minutes. Word of the attack was whispered in his ear and he went from ‘My Pet Goat’ to ‘My Sweet Ranch’. That’s who we have calling the shots here in America today, and the apathetic population is no better. With this in mind, is it any wonder why right-wingers go so out of their way to bash John McCain? Did it come as any surprise that Rush Limbaugh shamefully attempted to trash Marine Major Paul Hackett by saying he was “hiding behind his uniform” or that he only went to Iraq to “pad his resume”? Considering how Republicans have underfunded the VA budget, is there any more evidence needed for anyone to realize that in spite of all the rah-rah, these righties actually feel contempt for those who served?
Because what both Hackett and McCain represent is a chickenhawk’s worst nightmare. In the face of a real man, the psychology turns to notions of inferiority, and its then that they’re most vulnerable. Suddenly the false Tony Soprano image they have of themselves is threatened by someone who doesn’t have to pretend when they look in the mirror. This person must be destroyed or minimized in every way possible, and that is exactly what happens. A short list of men who threaten the right-wing facade include Wesley Clark, Max Cleland, John McCain, John Kerry and Paul Hackett. All trashed by men who never had the guts to enlist, let alone go to war. All living examples of how truly lost our society has become in accepting the poisoned rationale of these shameless frauds.
Now there’s a vast majority of Americans who never have to put on the uniform, yet have the nerve to take claim of a patriotic high ground over someone who did based on politics. How is this perversion of logic and justice rationalized? For the same reason Karl Rove first decided to smear Joe Wilson. An Army General (Clark) and Marine Major (Hackett) ran for office as Democrats, and that’s all you need to know. Truth is, General George S. Patton himself could run as a Democrat today and be branded a coward. That’s how apathetically self-righteous we’ve become. Thousands, if not millions of Republicans are driving with ‘Support the Troops’ bumper stickers on their cars, yet they can feel contempt on demand for whichever one of those troops happens to be a Democrat. Twisting like pretzels, they’ll find a loophole in the bumper sticker’s mantra, fed to them by politicatos who assure them that it’s not only acceptable to be such a hypocrite, but it proves they’re better Americans for it.
As this rationale erodes the mind, the arrogance of these people gets worse by the day. Suddenly a POW like McCain knows less about the usefulness of torture than Bill O’Reilly or countless conservative think tank suits who have never been involved with it before in their lives. Rush Limbaugh even has the nerve to profit financially off of a product line called ‘Club Gitmo’, which celebrates the mistreatment of detainees. The abuse scandal at Abu Gharib prison, strengthened the enemy in Iraq, and soldiers who took part are behind bars. This would lead one to think that the American government condemned the behavior, but if that were true, Armed Forces Radio wouldn’t be marketing ‘Club Gitmo’ gear to the insurgents, general Iraqi population or the soldiers five days a week. That’s right, the enemy doesn’t have to rely completely on Al-Jazeera and the mosques to misinform, enrage and recruit. They’ve got American right-wing radio, and one of our most notorious drug addicts in Limbaugh, trice divorced, providing a perfect example of what to hate about western society.
As the top rural Army prospects choose crystal-meth over military service, and suburbia grows weary of that ‘played out’ reality show called ‘Iraq’, the cowardice behind our fraudulent patriotism grows stronger. The first nation in the history of mankind to pass tax cuts during a time of war is none other than the United Chickenhawks of America. The rich get a better deal while veterans’ health care goes underfunded, troops go without the armor necessary to stay alive, and tours are growing longer by the month with no end in sight. An undercurrent of contempt for the military is becoming more and more transparent as are the reasons for it. America is a frightened country embarking on a task that requires a larger sacrifice than it’s willing to make.
King George II, a man much better suited to the role of Prince, has been in over his head since day one. Under his watch, our troops have been hailed as heroes when convenient and suckers always. Compounding mistakes with arrogance and apathetic negligence, the chickenhawks have had their day to lead this great nation. Our trust and faith continues to be fed through the chipper shredder, our pride becoming more ridiculous by the day. We cannot allow the deaths of our brothers and sisters to become nothing more to millions of us than a matter of ‘liberal bias’. This macho facade is a drug, nothing more. Whatever maintains the Tony Soprano image while looking in the mirror. Whatever gets the brush cleared.
Posted by Al Swearengen in Military, Words
