Find the cost of freedom revisited...

Good questions deserve answers...

A recent response to one of my posts has been niggling away at me until I am at last inclined to post a rebuttal. First off let me begin by saying that I do not “celebrate” the holiday known as Patriot Day. Personally, I thought we already had a day for patriots called, Fourth of July. The events that occurred six years ago on 0/9/11 will never be forgotten by me as long as I live. It was a horrendous day and the images of that terrible morning will are indelibly etched in my memory.

George W. Bush, in my mind, is the most incompetent and criminal individual ever to hold the office of the presidency. Creating a new day to honor our armed forces and recognize patriotism when we already have two such holidays is nothing more than another of his efforts to politicize and polarize the country in defense of his indefensible policies since that terrible day. Every time 0/9/11 rolls around it simply reminds me of the failures of the Bush administration for the past six years. Osama Bin Laden is still a free man releasing his messages of death to the world’s media. Afghanistan is still a quagmire and Iraq is a pool of quicksand to which George Bush would like to commit our troops indefinitely.

Quite frankly I am sick of the celebration of death that has sprung up around this day. 0/9/11 is a day to remember but it is not a day to commemorate. It is a day that should live on in infamy and not celebration. There is nothing noble, glorious or patriotic about the events of that day. There is only horror, tragedy and evil. Unfortunately, the policies of the Bush administration have reflected those same three aspects and failed to produce anything noble, glorious or patriotic in the Middle East Theater with the sacrifice of nearly five thousand of our sons and daughters who served in our military and died in vain. No sir, I don’t find anything to be reminded of or to commemorate in “Patriot Day” except the continued failure of the Bush Presidency. Again, this is something I will never forget but it is nothing I care to commemorate each year for the rest of my life.

As to the anti-war movement and why I did not focus on the “big” protest in Washington. It seems that every time I see any news story about the anti-war demonstrations, whether it is in print or on the televised news programs, there is always something important missing and that is participation by those most at risk, the young people. Oh I see plenty of forty, fifty and sixty year old marchers and protesters, but where are the young people whose lives are in danger? When the generation that has so much to lose begins to stand up for themselves and do something about the war then I will add my voice to theirs and do whatever I can do to help. In the meantime, I did my part for my generation during the Vietnam War. We stood up for ourselves and did not sit around coffee houses sucking down Lattes while others did the job for us. The war continues because of false patriotism and apathy among those whose voices should be ringing the loudest.

As for me, I’ll continue to speak my mind as an individual and leave both of those bandwagons to their own designs.