Veterans' Day

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Response to a stupid, thoughtless, heartless post on FaceBook today

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  Sharon Rose

  Veterans and those who want to be: Please stop your willingness to go to war for a country that is only promoting financial interest and gain. You are being used by corporate America. I don't want to honor you for that - I want you to live and be a part of a more mature and heartfelt conversation. Offer the world solutions by refusing to offer up your life. I want you to think about all wars and the millions who have died. War solves nothing so stop going.

 I hope you're aware that most people who sign up are low income without much education, that the military is the ONLY option in some communities (besides crime), that there is family tradition and that these kids are brainwashed from day one in boot camp. I hope your know the "liberal" elite has NEVER set foot in the War Zone of Albuquerque to register voters, to activate neighborhoods, to help folks educate themselves and to find healthy and honorable alternatives to military service. I also hope you know that, once you've enlisted, it's not like taking a pair of shoes back to the mall for a refund. You're asking these kids to risk dishonorable discharge, courts marshal, imprisonment, and loss of ALL benefits and pay they signed up for to help their families. Instead of wagging our white, middle class, liberal fingers in these kids' faces, maybe we ought to be preparing "care" packages to mail overseas, sending links to Occupy Wall Street and other, progressive activities and working in veterans' hospitals where so many languish alone and forgotten. Maybe we should be at the homeless shelters and soup kitchens, too. Because thousands of our kids are coming back hurt, traumatized, unemployable and HOMELESS! If you want to criticize someone, criticize the commanders! These kids are just trying to stay ALIVE!