Military Commenter

It's tempting to think of the soldiers (and marines) on duty in Iraq as being saints. It's also tempting to think that all of them are full of altruistic motives and genuinely support their commander-in-chief and the effort to free a nation. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. ..

On a recent post about Corn (The post was literally about corn.) I received the following comment from a guy named Rick,

It's off topic, but I thought I'd message the most recent entry. I was wonder how you felt that our soldier's in Iraq are getting shot at while helping transport drilling equipment from Texas oil companies? Is that what we went to war for?

Of course, I've heard plenty of "no blood for oil" from the loony left so I went a little ballistic and replied,

Of course Rick, it's all about the oil. That's why we're paying almost 2 bucks a gallon. Oh yeah, and Bush knew about 9/11 ahead of time and Dick Cheney is secretly in charge and Bush and Bin Laden are in bed together... what a tool you are rick.
Imagine seeing oil drilling equipment in a country whose main export is...oil. You really have a hot news flash there. Take your paranoid rantings someplace else.

Apparently Rick is a soldier in Iraq. From that vantage point, Rick seems to have some pretty strong opinions,

People comment about John Kerry and how he opposed the war after being lauded as a true hero; I'm not a big John Kerry fan, but I'm a firm believer that in order to have the right to oppose the war, you should have participated in it.
Your reaction couldn't have been more perfect. Rabid, Neo-Conservatives kill me with their predictability. "Take your paranoid rantings someplace else." You say? Allow me to retort.
I'm an Infantry squad leader currently serving in Iraq. I'm a model leader, having been promoted at the fastest rate the Army allows. I've attended numerous school and am being awarded for bravery in combat. I only mentioned the above scenario because that's exactly what happened not too long ago. Even worse, I had three new soldiers, barely out of Basic Training on their second mission during that. What if they would have died? For what? So we could ensure the safety of, yes, a Texas oil company's equipment? This isn't paranoid ranting, sir. It's a true story, given by someone that IS in a position to comment on this war. I would never have commented here, but that your blind, rabid obdience (I'm sure you call it "patriotism"), sickens me. I am a patriot. I love my country and will fight to my last breath for it whenever and wherever.
Just thought I'd let you see another perspective in your World of Blinders.

So, it would appear, that I'm posting this from my World of Blinders (hey that might be a good name for a blog.) My problem with this whole interchange is that I pretty much idolize a lot of our soldiers, but this whole thing forces me to admit that they aren't all great guys I'd like to have over for a cup of coffee. Maybe Rick is an okay guy and maybe I'd like him if I met him in person, but I don't really like his self-righteous attitude or the fact that he's ready to cast judgements on me based purely on whatever he's read at this blog.
I'm willing to concede that he has a perspective that I could never have sitting here in my living room, but I don't think he has some kind of lock on the truth. I guess that's what I was trying to get across in my reply to his post,

Rick,
Who would've thought a post on corn would generate so much heat?
I'm happy that you have the opportunity to serve your country and would basically let you get away with saying just about any crazy thing based on the fact that you've literally risked your life for it.
I think you would probably agree though that your position doesn't give you any great revelation on absolute truth.
The fact is that there are a lot of seemingly meaningless things for which soldiers risk their lives. I happen to think that protecting equipment used in the rebuilding of a country isn't necessarily worthless. I wonder - if this drilling equipment was from Saudi if you or someone else would be complaining that the least we could do is get it from our own country.
As far as your comment about blind rabid obedience, I'm not sure what made you decide that so there really isn't much way to address that charge. I would say, on the contrary, that I tend to be a skeptical person and in this blog I've been critical of everyone including President Bush, Republicans, other Republican members of congress, etc.
Perhaps your position doesn't give you a broad enough perspective on the political climate here in the states or who knows really why you feel the way you do...
Either way, I can honestly make the same statement you made,
I am a patriot. I love my country and will fight to my last breath for it whenever and wherever.
If that's not good enough in your judgement I suppose there's nothing I can do about that.
By the way, you might be seeing your post show up on the front page of this blog since you raise some important points that I'd like others, especially other milbloggers to comment on.

So there it is. I really would like to hear from some of you milbloggers out there. Who's off-base here? And Rick, if you're reading this, there's no malice behind this. I appreciate your willingness to do your duty and wish both you and your men well. (but you're still wrong)

Posted by jdmays at August 19, 2004 07:06 PM | TrackBack