Just saw an ad on TV that was soliciting for donations to the American red cross to help them “help military men and women get home to their families when they need them most”; showed images of a child birth, a funeral and a military officer visiting what looked to be his parent in the hospital. The caption beneath that particular heart tugging image said “made possible by The Milken’s family”.
So let’s get this straight. The hundreds of thousands of men and women in uniform in the United States armed services cannot afford to come home in times of family emergencies to see their loved ones because they can’t AFFORD to? They need donations? Charity? From the Red Cross? Just to fly home to see a loved one who might be sick or dying?
I’ve been a certified Red Cross volunteer for twenty years. I’ve heard of the Red Cross doing a lot of things. Floods hurricanes fires. Sure. Donations to US military families? What? They don’t get paid enough? The toughest scariest dirtiest most brutal job on earth and they’re low paid?
Well that’s certainly not something we ever hear about in the media, or from the government. We hear a lot from the media. We hear a lot more from the government. US congressmen and senators these days have become the new Real Housewives of Washington DC in the media they’re featured so much. And yet we never hear about these gaping holes in the military budget that must be so low that the people doing the most honorable, and dangerous, and self sacrificing work available can’t afford flights to see family in times of emergency. Or that they are now in need… are charity cases… like a homeless family after a tornado or something.
And yet day after day the American people are bombarded by reminders of how important it is that we continue to give 2 billion dollars a year to Egypt or the umpteen billions we’ve been giving to Israel for the last sixty years.
This is a shameful time to be an American citizen. No matter how many parades or special White House dinners or black tie ceremonies and 21 gun salutes they put on. No matter how many times President Obama appears on Jon Stewart or Oprah in his feeble attempt to maintain his mr cool “I’ve got it all under control” image, it doesn’t do a thing to help shake the gnawing nagging feeling that this is a very regrettable and shameful time to be an American. In just so many ways.
To think that the wealthiest country on earth with a 14 trillion dollar a year GDP can’t pay for some family emergency time for their most valuable employees. I can’t believe it because I refuse to. I just can’t feel that guilt. What I feel is sad for the military families. And disgusted by the government they signed up to serve.
What they need to do is quit. Act like any other working force. Unite and strike and demand to receive what they deserve. It’s not like anyone would blame them. There’s not a damn soul left in the United States who gives a shit if we have a military presence in Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen or Pakistan or anywhere else those nutjobs in Washington fly these poor kids off to. No one does. Times are too tough here at home for us to care about who they’re off killing in some far away country. Poor bastards.
If they had any idea the level of apathy the majority of The American people have about these god for saken illegal wars they got tricked into fighting….
They could strike tomorrow to demand everything they want and more and the majority of the American people would back them. Sure as hell is more honorable than taking charity or handouts because they’re so gullible as to believe the richest country in the history of human civilization can’t afford to pay them what they’re worth.
Getting very tired of games. Ambassador signing off for the evening.
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