What Have We Really Sacrificed?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in The War On Terrorism, WarI don’t agree with the majority of this editorial. And the glib tone is certainly a strike against it.
And yet…these lines really hit home:
Besides, those little yellow ribbons aren’t really for the troops. They need body armor, shorter stays and a USO show by the cast of “Laguna Beach.”The real purpose of those ribbons is to ease some of the guilt we feel for voting to send them to war and then making absolutely no sacrifices other than enduring two Wolf Blitzer shows a day. Though there should be a ribbon for that.
However, the writer is wrong. We have had to make some pretty serious sacrifices. Too bad we weren’t made aware that we were sacrificing something…
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 and is filed under The War On Terrorism, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 24th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
I don’t get it - why are the ribbons not to show support for the troops?
January 24th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Did you read the second paragraph?
January 24th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
I assume he is just speaking for himself?
January 25th, 2006 at 12:09 am
Well sure. It’s an editorial.
January 25th, 2006 at 12:31 am
That guy is kind of funny — but he is definitely wrong. “Wussy” apparently means anyone with a respect for the role of the military in a democracy and the heroism of soldiers standing independently from policy considerations.
January 25th, 2006 at 10:19 am
“Wussy� apparently means anyone with a respect for the role of the military in a democracy and the heroism of soldiers standing independently from policy considerations.
I think that’s exactly what he means. I disagree, but it’s not exactly an original thought — I was told many times by war supporters that you can’t support the troops if you don’t support their mission.
January 25th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Sure the yellow ribbons are to assuage our guilt. So is sending care packages. How can you not feel guilty when men and women are putting their life on the line and you’re sitting in front of the TV, eating a home-cooked meal? You should feel guilty. That’s o.k.
But that doesn’t mean you should go sign up to fight (like some claim) or demand the troops return. It just means you should keep finding ways to help the effort. Sticking a yellow ribbon on your SUV doesn’t do much, but it’s a symbol of your desire to help and I understand why people have them.
What amazes me is, even with many if not most of us feeling guilty and trying to do something more for the effort, the Bush adminstration has asked for so little of us. It’s frustrating. I would gladly pay more in taxes if that helped. I would ration gasoline if that would help. But it’s like the adminstration just looks at us on the homefront and says “don’t worry your pretty little heads, we’ve got this thing covered.”