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I'll certainly thank a vet[erinarian]. <br>
<br>
They've obviously done more good in my lifetime than members of
military organizations.<br>
<br>
<br>
On 11/11/10 1:20 PM, E. Wayne Johnson wrote:<br>
<span style="white-space: pre;">> (I thought this article was in
praise of Veterinarians. How wrong was<br>
> I.)<br>
> <br>
> Thank a Vet by Laurence Vance<br>
> <br>
> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance216.html">http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance216.html</a><br>
> <br>
> <br>
> We’ve all seen the bumper stickers: "My son is in the Air
Force," "If<br>
> You Can Read This in English, Thank a Marine," "Proud Vietnam<br>
> Veteran," "Fly Navy," and of course, "Thank a Vet."<br>
> <br>
> Why should we?<br>
> <br>
> Why should we call them heroes, give them military discounts,
grant<br>
> them veterans preference, express our support for them with
ribbons<br>
> on our cars, honor them with a holiday, hold military
appreciation<br>
> church services for them, and thank them for their "service"?<br>
> <br>
> Veterans Day began as Armistice Day to commemorate the
signing of the<br>
> armistice that ended World War I. It had nothing to do with
honoring<br>
> current and former members of the military like Veterans Day
is<br>
> celebrated today. And if the sole purpose of Armistice Day
was to<br>
> honor World War I veterans, it should never have been
celebrated<br>
> since no American soldier did anything honorable by
intervening in a<br>
> European foreign war. And it doesn’t matter if he was drafted
or<br>
> not.<br>
> <br>
> Britain’s last World War I combat veteran, Harry Patch, died
last<br>
> year at the age of 111. He boasted that he hadn’t killed
anyone in<br>
> combat. "War isn’t worth one life," Patch said, it is
"calculated and<br>
> condoned slaughter of human beings." In his autobiography The
Last<br>
> Fighting Tommy, Patch wrote that "politicians who took us to
war<br>
> should have been given the guns and told to settle their
differences<br>
> themselves, instead of organising nothing better than
legalised mass<br>
> murder." In the last years of his life, Patch warned some
young naval<br>
> recruits that they shouldn’t join.<br>
> <br>
> Frank Buckles, age 109, is the only American veteran of World
War I<br>
> still living. When asked while being honored for his service
at a<br>
> 2007 Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
what he<br>
> thought about being there while the United States was at war,
he<br>
> replied: "I’m no authority, but I’m not in favor of war
unless it’s<br>
> an emergency." I think that Buckles is more of an authority
on the<br>
> horrors of war and the folly and wickedness of war than the
current<br>
> members of the Joint Chiefs.<br>
> <br>
> It is only because World War I did not turn out to be the
"war to end<br>
> all wars" that the holiday was changed to Veterans Day as a
tribute<br>
> to all soldiers who fought for their country.<br>
> <br>
> Although I believe World War II to be neither necessary nor
good, I<br>
> come not on this Veterans Day to criticize the "greatest
generation,"<br>
> who, it turns out, were also great at pillaging and
carousing.<br>
> <br>
> For reasons I explained in "U.S. Presidents and Those Who
Kill for<br>
> Them," World War II marks the permanent establishment of the
American<br>
> military as the president’s personal attack force to kill by
his<br>
> decree Koreans, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Grenadians,<br>
> Panamanians, Yugoslavs, Serbians, Afghans, Iraqis, Somalis,
Yemenis,<br>
> and Pakistanis. Next on the list is Iranians. Sometimes these<br>
> presidential decrees are rubberstamped by a congressional<br>
> authorization to use force, but they are always preceded by<br>
> presidential lies and warmonger propaganda.<br>
> <br>
> So why should a Vietnam veteran be proud? He was typically
young,<br>
> ignorant, deceived, and drafted. He may have fought
obediently,<br>
> valiantly, selflessly, and fearlessly, but since he had no
business<br>
> fighting in Vietnam in the first place, I have nothing to
thank him<br>
> for. And I certainly can’t thank him for preventing the Viet
Cong<br>
> from turning America into a socialist republic. Besides, LBJ
beat Ho<br>
> Chi Minh to that anyway. Many Vietnam veterans have written
me and<br>
> expressed shame, remorse, anger, and resentment – not pride –
for<br>
> having been duped into going thousands of miles away from
American<br>
> soil to intervene in another country’s civil war. In fact, I
have<br>
> found that it is those who are not Vietnam veterans who are
the most<br>
> vociferous defenders of the war in Vietnam.<br>
> <br>
> The most undeserved and oftentimes disgusting outpouring of<br>
> thankfulness I have ever seen is over those who have fought
or are<br>
> fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The praise and adoration of
those<br>
> fighting in "the front lines in the war on terror" reaches
its apex<br>
> on Veterans Day, which has become a day to defend U.S. wars
and<br>
> recognize all things military. These soldiers certainly have
done<br>
> nothing worthy of thanks. Sure, they have rebuilt
infrastructure –<br>
> after bombing it to smithereens. They no doubt removed a
brutal<br>
> dictator – and unleashed American brutality in the process.
And yes,<br>
> they have rescued orphan children – after blowing their
parents and<br>
> brothers and sisters to kingdom come.<br>
> <br>
> What is there to thank our soldiers for? They are not
defending our<br>
> freedoms. They are not keeping us safe from our enemies. They
are not<br>
> protecting us from terrorists. They are not guaranteeing our
First<br>
> Amendment rights. They are not defending U.S. borders. They
are not<br>
> guarding U.S. shores. They are not patrolling U.S. coasts.
They are<br>
> not enforcing no-fly zones over U.S. skies. They are not
fighting<br>
> "over there" so we don’t have to fight "over here." They are
not<br>
> avenging 9/11. They are not safeguarding the American way of
life.<br>
> Oh, and they are not ensuring that I have the liberty to
write what I<br>
> do about the military.<br>
> <br>
> What, then, should we thank our soldiers for? Should we thank
them<br>
> for fighting an unconstitutional war, an unscriptural war, an
immoral<br>
> war, an offensive war, an unjust war, or a senseless war?
Should we<br>
> thank our veterans for helping to carry out an aggressive,
reckless,<br>
> belligerent, and interventionist foreign policy? Should we
thank the<br>
> military for sucking $1 trillion out of the federal budget?<br>
> <br>
> But, some will say, these soldiers are just doing their jobs.
They<br>
> can’t help it if the U.S. military sends them to fight in an
unjust<br>
> war in Iraq or Afghanistan. They are just following orders.
They<br>
> didn’t enlist in the military to kill people.<br>
> <br>
> What would any sane man think about a doctor who takes a job
at a<br>
> hospital knowing that the hospital instructs its doctors to
euthanize<br>
> old and sickly patients – and then says he was just doing his
job,<br>
> following orders, and didn’t take the job to kill people?<br>
> <br>
> Why are soldiers treated so differently? Why do they get a
pass on<br>
> committing or supporting those who commit murder and mayhem?<br>
> <br>
> But, someone else says, the military has lowered its
recruiting<br>
> standards and is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Many
soldiers are<br>
> ignorant about the true nature of the military and U.S.
foreign<br>
> policy. Why should we fault them for their ignorance? Why
should they<br>
> be criticized for unjustly killing Iraqis or Afghans or
Pakistanis?<br>
> They are just following orders.<br>
> <br>
> Let’s go back to the doctor I mentioned. Suppose that after
he takes<br>
> a job in ignorance at what he thinks is a reputable hospital
he is<br>
> instructed to euthanize old and sickly patients? What should
he do? I<br>
> don’t know of anyone who would say anything else but that he
should<br>
> quit his job or at least refuse to euthanize anyone.<br>
> <br>
> Again, why are soldiers treated so differently? Why do they
get a<br>
> pass on committing or supporting those who commit murder and
mayhem?<br>
> <br>
> But, comes another reply, soldiers have a term of enlistment.
They<br>
> can’t just quit their jobs. Doctors can walk away from their
jobs at<br>
> any time. Then I guess it all comes down to morality: Be a
mercenary<br>
> and kill for the state or refuse to do so and suffer the
consequences<br>
> of dishonorable discharge and/or imprisonment.<br>
> <br>
> It is high time that Americans stop holding veterans and
current<br>
> members of the military in such high esteem. It is
scientists,<br>
> engineers, inventors, businessmen, industrialists, software<br>
> developers, and entrepreneurs that made America great – not
veterans<br>
> of foreign wars. It is doctors, iron workers, taxi drivers,<br>
> bricklayers, writers, electricians, and cooks that positively<br>
> contribute to society – not soldiers.<br>
> <br>
> I would like to be able to thank a vet – on Veterans Day and
every<br>
> other day of the year – but I’m still searching for a reason.<br>
</span><br>
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