Monday, May 29, 2006

Burn that yellow ribbon...

RJ's hot today. Hot under the collar, too, like a lot of us at the way our troops are treated by those who put them in harm's way. This is my Memorial Day "must read" recommendation.

Flags are at half-mast, fluttering in the breeze. The smell of barbecue clings to summer dresses in a suburban yard. Somewhere, "Taps" is sounding over crumbling tombstones laced with flowers. And in the whitewashed halls of Washington, Republicans and their "Christian" clerical allies aren't giving a second thought to the young soldiers' lives they destroy every day. To them, our troops are tools to be used and discarded.

Here's my advice to the lady in that SUV over there, the one with the flag on the antenna: Burn your yellow-ribbon decal.

To this crowd, soldiers are puppets and props. Send 'em to the Mexican border for a photo op, stand 'em next to the President with a papier-mache turkey, send 'em out to die for a war that's going to boost our poll ratings. Who cares? They don't belong to our country club, anyway.

That's why I suggest you burn that yellow-ribbon decal, if you have one. It may say "Support Our Troops" in black ink, but what it's really saying is "I've been manipulated by politicians and cynical preachers into supporting an Administration that mistreats our veterans, disrespects our soldiers, and sacrifices them both on a whim."

This Memorial Day, you can truly honor our fallen heroes - by fighting for their comrades who are still among us.

Like Nina said in an earlier post - fight like Hell for the living.

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