I Was No Hero . .

[Vox Moi]

4. Thank you for an act of heroism

I am a Viet Nam era vet and I have had the same thoughts and the same trepidation about saying it out loud.
There is a big trap when talking about our troops. We love our sons and daughters in uniform but we can't let that spill over as a reason to justify or glorify the war they might be fighting.
Viet Nam and Iraq were disasters that could and should have been avoided.
Casting the troops who fought there as heroes who made a sacrifice does much to distract attention when the sacrifice was unnecessary.
A soldier who was stop-lossed for a fourth tour in Iraq is a person who volunteered for service and then was betrayed.
Putting soldiers in harm's way and then using 'Support our Troops' as a justification for the continuation of a war is beyond cynical.
Just once, I would like to see the President face the veterans on Veterans day and and admit to the mistakes that so many died for for and apologize in the name of a government that leveraged the finest traditions of service and love of country for something less than a clear and present danger.
This Veteran's Day let's remember that duty and honor are not commodities to be leveraged and that our values, our honor and our troops are too precious to use recklessly.