Fall from Grace

Ok, So I am about to stir up a shit storm with this one, but I can’t resist.
Earlier today I was perusing the news and ran across this gem of an article http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8482917?source=rss_viewed on one of my news feeds. It basically (for those who didn’t go read it) is about a 17 year old foster child in California that wants to join the Marines through early enlistment, well the judge who is opposed to the Iraq war said she was against the war and against the army and refused to let the teen enlist. Last month, Berkley California tried to kick the marines out of town calling them murderers. Now say what you will about the war in Iraq, I know almost everyone is opposed to it, myself included, but there is a definite difference between the men and women who serve this country as a member of the armed forces, and those who make the decision to send them into war. I have several friends who proudly wear their uniforms, who have served tours in Iraq and other places, and I am so sick of people disrespecting the troops for just following orders. And for those who say the soldiers are committing atrocities, yes there have been some unfortunate incidents, but by and large, who are we to judge the actions of a soldier in a hostile foreign country, where you don’t know when the next bomb will go off, where the next round of gunfire will come from. It’s easy for people to sit in their comfortable living rooms, or the offices, sipping their Starbucks, or riding in their nice cars to judge the actions of someone who is sleeping in the dirt, wearing clothes that haven’t been washed in weeks, or that still has the blood of their friend who got the ride home in a pine wood box on them. I don’t care if you support the war or if you don’t. The men and women fighting this war are every bit as much the victim. You want names to blame for the war in Iraq, George W Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleza Rice, those are who you blame, and guess what America, you had your chance 4 years ago to rectify the problem, instead you elected Bush with over 50% of the vote, something even the great Bill Clinton didn’t manage to do in either presidential election. After Katrina people complained that their wasn’t enough national guard troops left to help in the event of disasters at home, the same arguments after tornadoes devastated the Midwest. It’s hypocritical, bullshit that this damned ingrates will sit there and call our soldiers trash and murderers, yet they are the first to bitch when someone in a uniform isn’t there to help them. No matter what has transpired with the Iraq war, the treatment of the soldiers who are just following orders, which is what we train them to do, is absolutely disgraceful. There was a time in this country when a person wearing the uniform was treated with honor and respect, unfortunately, those days are gone. I didn’t use to believe it, but the more crap like this I see truly makes me believe the morality of this country is a thing of the past.