Posted on 10/20/2006 4:15:44 PM PDT by Dane
editorial | posted October 20, 2006 (web only) Pat Tillman's Legacy
Kevin Tillman
Former Major League Baseball player Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. This article originally appeared on Truthdig. It is Pat Tillman's birthday November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice.... until we get out.
Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can't be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.
Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few "bad apples" in the military.
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It's interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.
Somehow the more soldiers who die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.
Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.
Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.
Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.
Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.
Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.
Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.
Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.
Somehow torture is tolerated.
Somehow lying is tolerated.
Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.
Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.
Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.
Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.
Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.
Somehow this is tolerated.
Somehow nobody is accountable for this.
In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don't be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that "somehow" was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat's birthday.
"Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant.......slapping stickers on cars,"
Those stickers always stuck me as funny, someone/somewhere made a fortune...Barnum was right...
Thank you. Shall withdraw.
Well I'd rather see those yellow stickers on cars, than those inane Garfield's that were popular a few years back, but go ahead and mock those people who support the troops(ala Kevin Tillman).
I have both!
And for the record, I was just trying to help out planetesimal by pointing out that he was pouring good energy after bad.
Kevin Tillman is a guy who had his brother killed and then was lied to by our government about how that death came about. So part of his anger with the government, and thus the Bush administration, is justifiable and understandable.
But, of course, he then goes off the deep end, and a) totally forgets why we got into the Iraq War: because Saddam wouldn't live up to the critical surrender terms of the Gulf War; and b) forgets that when we process terrorists through the traditional criminal justice system, they use our system against us.
So all I can do is offer him condolences for his loss, relate to his justifiable anger over the lies told about his brother's loss, and point out how the points he makes in this piece are horribly mistaken.
But I sure won't take the Dane approach and totally misconstrue a sentence to make it look like he's beating up on kids. That would undercut our side's arguments, and enhance his. This is exactly what you are doing, what you are constantly doing, and I hope this explains why it ticks smart conservative off when you do it.
A sticker on a car is trivial support...makes the owner of that vehicle feel like he/she/it is doin' something...and yes, I wish I'd had thought of the idea, so I guess I'm jealous...
How is it misconstrued? He's the one who IMO, was putting down kindergarterners contributions to support the troops.
He didn't have to put that snide remark in there, but of his own free will did. Here;s the sentnece again.
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas,
Now does that above sentence sound complimentary or cynical in tone. I would say cynical, cynical in that kindergarteners "are scibbling with crayons" to support the troops.
I shall now follow my own advice given to planetesimal in post #40 above.
That's because you know that Mr. Tillman is being condescending to his fellow Americans with snide remarks about kindergarteners scribbling pictures and stickers on the back of cars.
I can understand Mr. Tillman's anguish, but what I can't understand is why it seems he hates his fellow Americans more than the people who actually started this war and killed 3,000 innocent Americans on 9/11, the islamofascists.
If Noam Chomsky were as intelligent as claimed, then he would admit having become a cult figurehead, and agree that most in the cult are cynical opportunists. But then, that's Chomsky description as well.
So you are saying it is the truth of what Kevim Tillman and noam chomsky portray,that America is the force of evil in this world.
Read before you rant, Dane. Feinie's comment was quite clear.
Yep it was quite clear. It seems the feinswine is more influenced by who lubes up her loins(Pat Tillman was so hot) than who actually lubes up her brain.
BTW, don't get mad at me, it was feinswine who stated that {Pat Tillman was "hot").
Please Anna, I am not a fool, Feiny made it quite clear that she is in favor of those who lube her loins(Tillman's) than those who would lube her brain.
BTW, this thread is actually quite fun, since for all of my life I've heard women complain that men think with their crotch, but when a woman is blatantly caught doing the same thing, it's no big deal.
If he starts to appear as a commentator and political advocate then it will be time to debunk the myths contained in his letter.
Is this the same brother who went on a rant against the government at the funeral of Pat Tillman?
If he starts to appear as a commentator and political advocate then it will be time to debunk the myths contained in his letter.
According to KVOA in Tuscon and the AP, it seems that Kevin Tillman was paid for this rant.
"Somehow, the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes," Kevin wrote on Truthdig.com, which purchased his work.
Link
Can anybody say, Soros money.
I don't agree with K Tillman's opinion. I have never met the man. It sounds like he hasn't been able to deal with his borther's death.
But he did tours of duty in Afganistan and Iraq.He has earned a right to his opinion.
As have I, being an American.
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