Posted on 07/04/2012 2:43:18 PM PDT by Kaslin
WASHINGTON (AP) — If you have military-age children who have not served in this decade's wars, then you owe a debt — meaning money — to those who did. That's the premise of a new fundraising effort by three wealthy American families who want to help U.S. veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Every non-military family should give something, they said. The affluent should give large sums. No one should think of it as charity, but rather a moral obligation, an alternative way to serve, perhaps the price of being spared the anxiety that comes with having a loved one in a war zone.
"We have three able-bodied, wonderful, wonderful children, all of whom are devoted to doing very, very good things around social justice; and we could not be more proud of them," said Philip Green, a local businessman who devised the fundraising idea. "We're also delighted that none of them had to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan."
Green says he and his wife came to look at that as unfair: "I realized that there were parents just like me down the street, down the block ... who did not have that luxury" and were suffering sleepless nights and anxiety, "which I was able to avoid."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Keywords in the article:
‘social justice’
Although I tend to agree, it’s kind of crass say it out loud, like the man on TV trying to guilt me into helping Izzak go to school, be fed rice and drink clean water. There has never been a generation in my family, to my knowledge, that didn’t serve in uniform, but I don’t think you owe me money because of that. I knew what going into the service entailed, my father was in three wars.
Another lame, poorly written AP article, JMHO. I’m all for donating to important causes...I like Gary Sinese’s efforts myself and have given....But these people sound like dopes. Really bugs me when people say that others should “send THEIR kids” to the military. It’s a choice that adults NOT their parents make.
Maybe I read it wrong, but they’ll get no $$$ from me. Let them give away all their money to whomever they want....
Looks to me like the Greens and their “green” cohorts are all about the “greens”
Green, president of health care consultancy PDG Consulting, and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs, head of geriatrics at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, teamed with two other couples to start the fund-raising. Together, they donated a total of $1.1 million. Contributing with Green and Cobbs were Glenn Garland, head of Texas-based CLEAResult energy consultancy, and wife, Laurie, and Jim Stimmel, CLEAResult’s executive vice president, and wife, Patty.
Whaddya wanna bet this is not about “Charity” but rather getting that name out?
People always need to invent winners and losers but life isn’t always like that.
I am sure many who served are doing much more well than I am. Many many many.
I will retire next year after 24 years of serving. I don’t ask for anything from anyone except maybe a thank you and then let me enjoy the freedoms that I served to defend. And please use your unalienable rights. Hold our elected officials accountable and make them vote to better America.
After 24 years of being told what to do I just want the government to leave me alone.
Ashamed about not serving your Country?
Send money, that will help you sleep at night.
That’s how I read the story.
This will quickly snowball into China-style mandatory conscription.
I smell a skunk here.Helping the families of those who’ve lost their lives in Iraq/Afghanistan is,IMO,a solemn duty of *all* Americans.In fact helping our vets and their families has *always* been such.But the way this piece is written doesn’t smell right.Not even close!
It’s not the parents’ decision whether their children go into the military or not. If they want to help the troops, go to “AnySoldier.com” and send a box of what the troops are asking for, but skip the guilt.
If it’s so unfair, why not just reinstitute the draft?
I got out at 20, but this line says it all.
After 20 years of being told what to do I just want the government to leave me alone.
Jack
And as to people paying monet to charities because of their guilty feelings .
Put on the damn uniform!!!
Excellent point, but I also read it as self guilt
I guess I know too many people like that to give them that sort of credit. Greed, not guilt.
Well the concept has been cleared by the US Supreme Court.
You are free to choose to serve your country, but if you don’t pay the TAX!
What's astonishing to me is the "factoid" in the article that the military does not WANT 75% of the 17-24-year-olds that apply nowadays...how are these "kids" being raised? That must just refer to the quality of people who actually apply...for every good one, there are 3 "dead-enders" who are "obese", uneducated (not a high school grad) or have drug history/juvenile rap sheet...
Also interesting (if true) that the "population" in the armed services is similar to the general population re: minority groups....that's not what you'd think from reading the newspapers, is it!
If parents feel guilty because their children haven’t served in the military, then it’s probably because the parents have actively worked against that choice, whether for ideological or financial reasons or simply fear. If that’s where someone is, they should contribute to a private fund - help the serving troops, or Wounded Warriors, or anything that is not just giving money to the government.
We have always presented military service to our children as a highly honored option, but not the only legitimate choice. Our 21-year-old is serving (Coast Guard); our 18-year-old presently doesn’t plan on it, but the possibility is always there for him and all the others.
Didn’t send the kids to war? Maybe you guys could help reduce spending and debt by getting the government out of civilian health care and the energy business...oops, did I spill somebody’s rice bowls?
Just like the Middle Ages before the Reformation. The Church would sell Absolutions. Look where that got them.
If you have military-age children who have not served in this decade's wars, then you owe a debt — meaning money — to those who did. That's the premise of a new fundraising effort by three wealthy American families who want to help U.S. veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I don't find anything wrong with that, and I doubt you do
BTW, the USA DOD is an organization with an 100% paid, all qualified volunteers population.
No draft is needed to fill it's ranks, yet.
Re-elect this POTUS, or any other Democrat in the next twelve years, and I predict all our young men and women will be forcibly drafted into some kind of “government service”.
My father served in infantry in Germany. He told me to stay out of the military when I was 17 and go to college. He told the grandkid to stay out also who joined the Marines anyway.
Why do you think he told us to stay out?
Amen, Brother. Well said. Thank you for your service. Fair winds and following seas for the remainder of your life.
Because you can get killed serving in the military? Of course, everyone dies eventually.
“Why do you think he told us to stay out?”
People serve for many different reasons for serving or not serving. Given the fiasco of Iraq and Afghanistan and the Rules of Engagement that directly and unnecessarily killed US soldiers, for political expediency, I did not encourage my kids to join the military. If we were actually trying to win these wars, it might have been different.
It’s a different military than when I was in, which was still different than the military my father served in, and my grandfather and so on.
The defense budget is in the neighborhood of $700B depending on how you count the beans. Out of this, service wounded veterans receive care and treatment they need - one of the few government obligations that IS a solemn obligation. They should get whatever other help Americans can (voluntarily) give them - but the primary responsibility is for the military (funded by taxpayers) that sent them into combat to help them live as normal a life as is possible.
To veterans who simply did their duty - even when it was for engagements of a questionable nation-building variety like Iraq and Afghanistan and got out (hopefully in one piece) - be proud that you did your duty, and return to being just like every other American. You’re better off if you don’t feel especially entitled to anything above and beyond any other American. Other Americans don’t owe you their money, they should express their appreciation, but returning to a productive tax-paying life (without too many people telling you what to do with your property) is what you should aspire to do above all else - just like every other American.
I agree. We should do something for the draftees who fought in this decade’s wars.
It’s called TAXES and I “gave” a large amount already.
Effers want us to fresking quarter troops, essentially. Note that the troops themselves aren’t demanding entitlements but fricking wealthy guilty conscience liberals are.
Who gets to define what “affluent” is?
Who gets to define “large sums”?
What if you’ve already been forced to give large sums to government?
Feeling guilty you didn’t serve? One way to ease those guilty feelings is to make good use of the liberties those who have served secured for the rest of us. Be a responsible citizen and work to preserve The Constitution, The Bill of Rights and our Republic!
Those who volunteered stepped forward because they believed there’s a duty to serve our country...Most never asked for anything in payment from our fellow citizens except maybe a little respect for that service.
America has a long tradition of volunteers, citizen soldiers, but there have always been those who avoided, evaded or otherwise bought their way out of what was once a duty of manhood, and an obligation of citizenship...Many of them have since gone into very profitable careers in politics...
Greek matrons would hand shields to their husbands and sons admonishing that they come home “With this, or on this”...Living in victory, or a dead hero...Eventually this custom declined, and so has Greece...There is a lesson for us if we will only see it...
“To have really lived, you must have almost died. To those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.” — Scrawled on a bunker outside Khe Sahn, RVN
>>”We’re also delighted that none of our kids had to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.”<<
Nobody’s kids HAD to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. Some of them just had the brains, the stones and the love of country to do it anyway.
God bless them all.
With humble apologies, Kaslin...I did not mean “you”, or to suggest you are feeling guilty...
Meant instead those others who DO feel guilty about not serving...
Wording poorly chosen...
With humble apologies, Kaslin...I did not mean “you”, or to suggest you are feeling guilty...
Meant instead those others who DO feel guilty about not serving...
Wording poorly chosen...
People who truly care about our military and don’t want anything in return don’t issue press releases...
Thank you sincerely for serving your country, as I have. Welcome to the new war - a war against the sycophants and leaches who would drain our country dry.
And Happy Independence Day!!!!!
What about former service members who have military age children that didn’t serve...Do we an exemption or at least get a discount for our service??
And at what age do we cut that off?? The military will take people into their early 40; So if your 35 year old responsible for his own self kid never served, the parents would still have to pay??
I thought the military was voluntary??
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