Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Mon May 29, 2006 5:50 pm

As the American media would have it, this weekend's TV programming has been full of "war" themed broadcasts, from live commentary on various Memorial Day rememberance ceremonies, to old WWII classics on AMC, to the obligatory airing of Saving Private Ryan (with limited commercial interuptions).

One show, however, has left me contemplating who am I to pass judgement on the goings on over in Iraq. The show is Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company, and I just finished watching it. The show didn't change my opinion of how I feel about our service men and women being over in Iraq....I wish they were all back home....or if anything, it made that feeling stronger. However, it made me pause to stop and consider how fortunate I am, and everyone of us are, to have men like those of Lima Company, putting their necks on the line for us, whether they like it or not, whether they believe in the cause or not. They do so because our country asks them to do so. They do so without reluctance and they do so with more regard for their fellow soldiers' lives than their own.

Every day I get up and I complain about the traffic on the way to work, or about having to even go to work. I get pissed about bills I have to pay. I get bent when people ask last minute favors which constitute changing my plans. The list of trivial BS that gets on my nerves goes on and on. I consider these things to be important enough to allow myself to be affected by them.

Then I watch a show like Comabt Diaries. Suddenly I get an appreciation for what's positive and important in my life. I'm lucky I don't have to worry about mines on the freeway I'm driving when I go to work. I'm lucky that the biggest danger of my work is missing a delivery to a customer, or not getting their problem solved right away. I'm lucky that my job offers me the opportunity to pay bills, and I'm damn lucky that I have family or friends who depend on me or ask of me and my time. Because the truth is, the fallen soldiers of Lima Company, and all of the fallen soldiers before and after them, they don't often have those fortunes. They never know if that trip down a road that's been proofed will be their last trip. They never know for sure what lies behind that door they are about to kick in. They never know if they'll make it back to base to spend their soldeir's salary on some comforts that hopefully can make the job they do easier to cope with. Sure they are soldiers, and sure they are trained to think and act differently than the majority of us, but you also realize they are husbands, fathers, brothers.....family members who may never see their loved ones again, or in some cases may never see loved ones they never got a chance to meet.

Suddenly, my daily nuisances become something I feel fortunate to deal with. I get to see my kids. I get to watch them and my brother's kids grow up (God willing). I get to visit my Mom and my Dad. I get to talk to my friends. I get alot of things each and every day that a soldier thousands of miles away is fighting for me to have, even if it means he/she won't. Suddenly, I feel both fortunate and selfish at the same time.

So instead of questioning the wrong or right of the war, instead of questioning the wrong or right of why I am blessed with the things I am and have, and why others can't have the same, even if they are more deserving, I will instead make a conscious effort to have a better appreciation not only for my daily "pains in the ass", but moreso for the men and women that allow me to have that opportunity, knowing that many of them won't get the same.

Major, major props to the fallen men of Lima Company, and to every other man or woman who has worn the uniform of our US Armed Forces. I won't celebrate Memorial Day with a barbecue, or a trip to the beach, or any of the other traditions that have become what is Memorial Day in our nation. Instead, I celebrate with tears for those who've given their lives for me and my family, even if it means their own family won't be able to see them or be with them, and a prayer for those still marching on that they come home soon and safely.

Happy Memorial Day to America

SaladTosser · Post by **SaladTosser** » Mon May 29, 2006 6:35 pm

Roofer wrote: I celebrate with tears for those who've given their lives for me and my family.

I call bullshit.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Mon May 29, 2006 7:16 pm

SaladTosser wrote:
Roofer wrote: I celebrate with tears for those who've given their lives for me and my family.
I call bullshit.

Fortunately enough for you, ST, those men and women have fought for you to have the right to call bullshit.

Happy Memorial Day to you and your family.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:23 am

Roofer wrote:
...it made me pause to stop and consider how fortunate I am, and everyone of us are...

It's called having an attitude of gratitude.

Every day, not just on this day, thank God for having been born in the USA. No matter how heavy the cross is that you've been given to bear, someone else has a heavier burden.

Happy Memorial Day to America

Indeed.

Every day is Memorial Day in my book.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 12:43 pm

bunch of fucking tripe.

This nation has started celebrating the soldier and our imperialism like it was the next coming of Sparta.

Diego in Seattle · Post by **Diego in Seattle** » Tue May 30, 2006 12:59 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:bunch of fucking tripe.

This nation has started celebrating the soldier and our imperialism like it was the next coming of Sparta.

Perhaps I'd consider a donation to ARC if they kept you from posting.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:03 pm

Diego in Seattle wrote:Perhaps I'd consider a donation to ARC if they kept you from posting.

Nobody wants anything from you.

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Tue May 30, 2006 4:30 pm

Bizz wont be happy 'till we all are speaking Arabic.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 4:31 pm

Cicero wrote:Bizz wont be happy 'till we all are speaking Arabic.

The war in Iraq has nothing to do with the freedoms we enjoy in America.

Sadly the lines have been blurred beyond your shallow comprehension.

Tom In VA · Post by **Tom In VA** » Tue May 30, 2006 4:48 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:
Cicero wrote:Bizz wont be happy 'till we all are speaking Arabic.
The war in Iraq has nothing to do with the freedoms we enjoy in America.

Well I for one am all ears. Tell us, oh guru of the glib.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Tue May 30, 2006 5:41 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:bunch of fucking tripe.

This nation has started celebrating the soldier and our imperialism like it was the next coming of Sparta.

Bizzaro,

Our soldiers are required to go over there and fight. It's not by their choice that they do so, although it's likely many have enlisted with the intent and expectations to do so. My take wasn't about our country trying to impose its will on other nations around the world (we can have a whole 'nother discussion on that matter). My take was about the men and women of our armed forces who go over and do what is asked of them, whether or not they truly believe in the cause. They do so because it is what good soldiers do: they follow orders. The men of Lima company who will never see their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers are a microcosm of what soldiers, past, presenet and future, deal with in times of conflict. I would say that if you had a son or daughter or close family relative who was over there right now, you might have refrained from misconstruing my take into a voice of opposition against the ideology and thinking of our "powers that be", and instead would take the post for it's face value. If you do have a close friend or family member over there, then I hope you appreciate them for what they have to endure, whether you believe in the cause behind their actions or not.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Tue May 30, 2006 6:29 pm

Cicero wrote:Bizz wont be happy 'till we all are speaking Arabic.

Your posts might as well be in Arabic, for all the sense they make.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:05 pm

If you do have a close friend or family member over there, then I hope you appreciate them for what they have to endure, whether you believe in the cause behind their actions or not.

1) Future brother in-law is over there.
2) A soldier signs up to soldier. No matter what the superiors say, the soldier allows themself to become a weapon for whatever the government decides. If a soldier endures a bunch of shit, its their own damned fault for signing up.

Obviously this point has nothing to do with those drafted into service.

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:13 pm

Someone very close to me was killed over there. So STFU Bace with your bullshit. Be glad you have the freedom to be a douchebag.

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:13 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:
If you do have a close friend or family member over there, then I hope you appreciate them for what they have to endure, whether you believe in the cause behind their actions or not.
1) Future brother in-law is over there.
2) A soldier signs up to soldier. No matter what the superiors say, the soldier allows themself to become a weapon for whatever the government decides. If a soldier endures a bunch of shit, its their own damned fault for signing up.

Obviously this point has nothing to do with those drafted into service.

So you're future brother-in-law, I suppose he is the fiance of your sister (or the brother of your fiance possibly). Does your sister/soon to be wife have any kids from him/you yet? Even if not, supposing they have the great fortune of having children, should a tragedy occur whereby said future brother-in-law loses his life in the line of duty, do you simply ease your sister's/future wife's pain (and that of any niece/nephew/children that might be in the picture) by telling her simply it was his fault for signing up? Do you think she will find comfort in that?

Yes, the men and women of today's armed forces made a choice to enlist in the service, for whatever reasons they may be. That shouldn't automatically exempt them from receiving our gratitude and appreciation for doing what's asked of them to protect and serve our country.

I'm confident a bright individual such as yourself will realize this.

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:30 pm

PSUFAN wrote:
Cicero wrote:Bizz wont be happy 'till we all are speaking Arabic.

Your posts might as well be in Arabic, for all the sense they make.

Eat a grenade.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:37 pm

Atomic Punk wrote:Someone very close to me was killed over there.

If he never enlisted, he would still be alive, wouldn't he?

The soldiers in Iraq are not guarding our freedoms. They are dying for other reasons. Belee dat.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:47 pm

mvscal wrote:
Bizzarofelice wrote:The soldiers in Iraq are not guarding our freedoms.
Wrong, as usual.

Interested in explaining? I'm guessing you'd rather be an ignorant douchebag than explain your position.

I'll wait for you to go get your American flag.

Bizzarofelice · Post by **Bizzarofelice** » Tue May 30, 2006 7:56 pm

mvscal wrote:No, I'm not interested in explaining the point to you.

BODE 314

Roofer · Post by **Roofer** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:35 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:
mvscal wrote:No, I'm not interested in explaining the point to you.
BODE 314

Actually, you're hiding behind arguments regarding the reasons we are voer there instead of coming correct on whether you appreciate and give thanks to your future bro-in-law and others who are putting their necks on the line and risking their lives.

I wouldn't call that BODE. I'd call it avoiding the real topic of this thread.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:42 pm

Bizzarofelice wrote:
mvscal wrote:
Bizzarofelice wrote:The soldiers in Iraq are not guarding our freedoms.
Wrong, as usual.
Interested in explaining? I'm guessing you'd rather be an ignorant douchebag than explain your position.

Why should anyone bother explaining this position when you didn't bother explaining yours? You make a blanket statement saying that "the soldiers in iraq aren't guarding our freedoms", offer no supporting basis for said statement, and then get all snippy when you're not provided with an in-depth treatise on the refutation of said false statement.

mv is correct. You'll never get it.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:19 pm

I see what Bizzaro is getting at. His logic is sound here. They're dying for our PROTECTION, not rights or freedoms. The idea of "freedom" is more accurately aligned with liberty from oppression and restraints, and civil threats.

People are just taking the word "freedom" and applying different meanings to it.

Either way, I'm extrememly grateful that they're choosing to risk death in order to help protect my life.

T1B

Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.

Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.

Re: Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.

Re: Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.

Re: Ok then, I'll give my Memorial Day take.