Remember to honor those who served and those who died today

[EE_]

...while you're out shopping at the Memorial Day Sale events at the Jewish mattress and clothing stores and while you're slugging down numerous brewski's standing next to the barbeque grill.

Many have served for the right reasons or thought they were.
I'm not sure what todays Vets think they are serving, but I'm sure many believe they are doing the right thing.

To those who only signed up for some action because there were no jobs, only to come home in a box, or to still find no jobs...sorry things didn't work out for you.

EE

Pop served in the Air Force during the Korean War. We buried him 9 years ago this weekend. R.I.P.

[Hatha Sunahara]

I think it's time we should stop glorifying war. Memorial Day is one national holiday I would gladly give up. Another one is Veteran's Day. And I'm a veteran.


Hatha

[EE_]

I think it's time we should stop glorifying war. Memorial Day is one national holiday I would gladly give up. Another one is Veteran's Day. And I'm a veteran.


Hatha

I don't look at it as a time to glorify war, just a time to honor those that have endured, suffered, given their lives and lost.
These foreign, banker wars have destroyed so many good men and their families that I see nothing wrong in having a day to honor the soldiers.

We can all agree we need a strong military...if only the military was used to protect the people of our country's interests, against foreign invaders that cross our borders daily and against the Zionist bankers that are destroying everything for money and power. That would be a war I could get behind.

[Libertytree]

I look at things a bit differently I think, maybe not?

To me the dudes that got shafted/drafted, I respect those men because they flat got shit on by both the .mil/.gov and by the stupid american public. I have known many Nam vets and most of them were/are my friends.

Fast forward.........This last batches of "soldiers" begged to get in, kill rag heads, blow shit up and live out their video game fantasies. To me that's a hard thing to respect and I can't respect it, sorry. Furthermore, a LOT of them, have brought that jar head mentality back and like using it on us to get their fix of power via the police or swat or some such agency.

Why should anyone honor those pieces of shit?

[zap]

I will say thank-you to our Vets, they were and are just pawns in a game.


Grandpa skinned planes with sheet metal.

And I appreciate them volunteering instead of the government invoking a draaft

[vacuum]

I approve of their bravery, but admonish them for their ignorance, which unfortunately usually exceeds their bravery.

[collector]

I look at things a bit differently I think, maybe not?

To me the dudes that got shafted/drafted, I respect those men because they flat got shit on by both the .mil/.gov and by the stupid american public. I have known many Nam vets and most of them were/are my friends.

Fast forward.........This last batches of "soldiers" begged to get in, kill rag heads, blow shit up and live out their video game fantasies. To me that's a hard thing to respect and I can't respect it, sorry. Furthermore, a LOT of them, have brought that jar head mentality back and like using it on us to get their fix of power via the police or swat or some such agency.

Why should anyone honor those pieces of shit?

If I could triple thank I would - Perfectly said !!

There's a big difference between being drafted and voluntarily signing up to shoot fancy weapons at people we're told to hate. Anyone that can suspend their conscience while fighting an obvious war of aggression for corporate interests doesn't deserve a special day of honor.
Let the gov't institute a draft and see the backlash that comes out of it...people might actually start questioning the war(s) instead of just passively accepting the propaganda

Well worth the time it takes to watch;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC7Sez6i5zc

[Hatha Sunahara]

Paul Craig Roberts wrote a piece for Memorial Day. Here's a piece of it:


Memorial Day is when we commemorate our war dead. Like the Fourth of July, Memorial Day is being turned into a celebration of war.

Those who lose family members and dear friends to war don’t want the deaths to have been in vain. Consequently, wars become glorious deeds performed by noble soldiers fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. Patriotic speeches tell us how much we owe to those who gave their lives so that America could remain free.
The speeches are well-intentioned, but the speeches create a false reality that supports ever more wars. None of America’s wars had anything to do with keeping America free. To the contrary, the wars swept away our civil liberties, making us unfree.



The rest of his article is here:

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/05/25/war-inevitable-paul-craig-roberts/

Memorial Day is to honor soldiers that died in wars. Modern wars have more civilian casualties than soldier deaths. There is no memorial day for civilians who needlessly are murdered in wars. Nor for those who die in our other 'wars', like the War on Drugs, and the War on Terror.

PCR makes a good argument that Memorial Day is not quite as honorable as those who celebrate it think it is.


Hatha

[Neuro]

I look at things a bit differently I think, maybe not?

To me the dudes that got shafted/drafted, I respect those men because they flat got shit on by both the .mil/.gov and by the stupid american public. I have known many Nam vets and most of them were/are my friends.

Fast forward.........This last batches of "soldiers" begged to get in, kill rag heads, blow shit up and live out their video game fantasies. To me that's a hard thing to respect and I can't respect it, sorry. Furthermore, a LOT of them, have brought that jar head mentality back and like using it on us to get their fix of power via the police or swat or some such agency.

Why should anyone honor those pieces of shit?
There is certainly a big difference between being forced to fight in a war that evil leaders are perpetuating and actively volunteer for it. Sure in a way I can sympathize with young men growing up in a depressed economy with little prospect of earning a decent wage in shitville, being misled by flashy advertising campaigns etc., but honor them I can't do!

[Hillbilly]

As a child who suffered from having a Dad who was a vietnam vet that was crazier than a shit house rat, I'm not super thankful of everyones service either.

[govcheetos]

Don't know if it's true or not, but I heard a statistic that more us soldiers die in motorcycle wrecks than in combat.

[Ares]

I'm a veteran and for me personally I despise the hero worship that goes along with Memorial day and Veterans day. Last week at work, a coworker on Friday said I won't be in next week but wanted to say thanks for your service. I said while I appreciate the gratitude what freedoms did I secure for you by my service? He was a bit puzzled by that comment.

I said let me rephrase. How did my service benefit you to warrant your thanks? He said he never thought of it that way. I said you're not supposed too, and I walked away. He emailed me later asking what the deal was, and I replied with this:

You are made to think the way you are by the media you see and read. This country hasn't had a declaration of war since World War II. All wars and conflicts since have been for wars of profit. Even I was dumb enough to join in my young adulthood to be a pawn on the world chessboard. I'm not disgruntled about my service and am I glad that I did it. But the hero worship that is propagandized by our government is enough to make my vomit. The only reason they do it is so they can get other ignorant well meaning kids to fill the ranks. While the old ones are forced out by mandatory retirement, or left on long waiting list at VA hospitals either mentally or physically broken by decades of war.. If the government really cared about veterans, they would show it. They don't. They get the civilian class to pony up the support the government lacks.

That's what my issue is with memorial day. Anyway have a good vacation.


He never replied back, hopefully I gave him something to think about.

[Hillbilly]

I'm a veteran and for me personally I despise the hero worship that goes along with Memorial day and Veterans day. Last week at work, a coworker on Friday said I won't be in next week but wanted to say thanks for your service. I said while I appreciate the gratitude what freedoms did I secure for you by my service? He was a bit puzzled by that comment.

I said let me rephrase. How did my service benefit you to warrant your thanks? He said he never thought of it that way. I said you're not supposed too, and I walked away. He emailed me later asking what the deal was, and I replied with this:

You are made to think the way you are by the media you see and read. This country hasn't had a declaration of war since World War II. All wars and conflicts since have been for wars of profit. Even I was dumb enough to join in my young adulthood to be a pawn on the world chessboard. I'm not disgruntled about my service and am I glad that I did it. But the hero worship that is propagandized by our government is enough to make my vomit. The only reason they do it is so they can get other ignorant well meaning kids to fill the ranks. While the old ones are forced out by mandatory retirement, or left on long waiting list at VA hospitals either mentally or physically broken by decades of war.. If the government really cared about veterans, they would show it. They don't. They get the civilian class to pony up the support the government lacks.

That's what my issue is with memorial day. Anyway have a good vacation.


He never replied back, hopefully I gave him something to think about.

Man I wish more Vet's like you would say exactly that to those brainwashed idiots running around saying thank you for your service. You are right they are doing it to sucker a whole new generation of kids into the military at the expense of the older guys!

[Ares]

Man I wish more Vet's like you would say exactly that to those brainwashed idiots running around saying thank you for your service. You are right they are doing it to sucker a whole new generation of kids into the military at the expense of the older guys!

But that was experience talking. Not every one joins, you truly can't see it until you're inside it to get a good grasp of what it is you're serving. Even my parents mentioned when I came back from deployment that I was a different person. War or conflict changes you. It changes you more when you realize that you are just a pawn, and the people the government says are your enemies are woman, children, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. I served in Operation Desert Fox and Kosovo. I helped build some of the weapons that were used in those conflicts. My only regret is that I wish I would of read Smedley Butlers' War Is A Racket before I joined....

So until you can have someone whose been there, and realizes that war is indeed a racket. The words I spoke to that gentleman while the truth will be seen as confusion, and shock. I still haven't heard from him, so who knows what he thinks of that comment.

It only rings true to those whose eyes are open to see it.

[Norweger]

This nonsensical soldier worship is one of my major problems with America. The only reasons i see for brainwashing the population in regards to this is to ensure a steady stream of new recruits that also want to be worshiped and also to create a general acceptance for pointless wars.

Yes, memorial day could have been nice if its purpose was to remember how meaningless the deaths of most US soldiers were, but instead it is to remember how they died to keep America "free and safe".

[Ares]

This nonsensical soldier worship is one of my major problems with America. The only reasons i see for brainwashing the population in regards to this is to ensure a steady stream of new recruits that also want to be worshiped and also to create a general acceptance for pointless wars.

Yes, memorial day could have been nice if its purpose was to remember how meaningless the deaths of most US soldiers were, but instead it is to remember how they died to keep America "free and safe".

Shut up and enjoy your freedoms before we have an officer come over and beat you to remind you how free you are.

/sarcasm. :)

[Santa]

This nonsensical soldier worship is one of my major problems with America. The only reasons i see for brainwashing the population in regards to this is to ensure a steady stream of new recruits that also want to be worshiped and also to create a general acceptance for pointless wars.

Yes, memorial day could have been nice if its purpose was to remember how meaningless the deaths of most US soldiers were, but instead it is to remember how they died to keep America "free and safe".

I agree...to keep America dumb and paying for a vast military industrial/police state machine.

[Dogman]

I tend to agree with some, I was raised in the heart of the "cold war" and only later, much later that I came to understand what I do now. Now I would not want any young ones to join, tho the military has been a door for education, and learning skills (not all military jobs are front line) that can translate into civilian jobs. That as kids they nor their family's could afford to send sons and daughters to collage.

I had no choice about joining, it was called the draft , I took 4 years over 2, by going air force.

Today, I am thankful for the culture, Vietnam vets and Koran vets can understand that there is now recognition , for the good and the bad. The kids that have joined and knew they were going to fight today are mostly brain washed by the media, but were also trying to make it in a life where there was no way out in their area.

The military took full advantage of that.

Yes the military/industrial complex lives and breaths war and conflict.

I will still honor they that even fought for the wrong reasons, as said above, some only learn after they join, but then the military has you by the balls, they can ruin you with a dishonorable.

Young and dumb, cannon fodder for the fat cats. They still get maimed and killed once they are in the machine.

I have already said before how I feel about others that English is their second language and not born here.

I hate to see how the nation has become brainwashed by the media.

No declared wars, but people die, No direct threat to my homeland, but people die.

This nation has changed from the one I grew up in and believed.

Out of this.