It's early Sunday morning, and it's finally cold in Washington. I just finished reading Frank Rich's op-ed, which is he take on Obama's speech on Afghanistan. It makes for an interesting read, but a point Rich raised that really struck me was something I've wondered since the first calls of war started: general American sacrifice in a time of war.
Rich linked to the text of a speech from Bush trying to urge Americans to get back on airplanes to show the world that things are alright. "Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed..." is what Bush said then, and I don't begrudge him that. We needed, at that time, to re-establish some semblance of normalcy. My problem came from the fact that what was asked of the majority of us stopped there.
It is no secret that our military families are the ones who have sacrificed in ways that the rest of us cannot imagine. But what have we been asked to do as a people? At the height of the bubble, when things seemed to look good, I think it would have been a good thing to consider a temporary war tax, so that we could have paid more directly for the war in Afghanistan. Why didn't we consider either raising the gasoline tax, or ration the amount of gas available to non-military consumers, because our troops needed the gas that we didn't need to use?
Think of all of the sacrifices that were made during WWII. The country as a whole sought ways to do its part to meet the needs of the mission, and there was little questioning about whether or not to sacrifice in that manner. In the end, most Americans, who were not actually in service, were doing their part to help. Right now, if it weren't for occasional news reports, and/or cynical reminders whenever politically expedient, one would not really think that the United States was engaged in one war, let alone two.
Hell, I feel guilty for not having done more for my part. We all should, and we need to do more than simply say "thanks" to our service members. And we damn sure need to move beyond the empty platitudes like "support our troops." I need to think about how I can help in some substantive fashion. I know that something like a war tax in these economic circumstances are not helpful at this time, but since it seems that we will be at war in some shape or form for a long time to come, then we need to consider better ways to sacrifice for our troops and for ourselves.
6 comments:
Interesting post ... You should listen to or read "When you ride alone, you ride with bin Laden" by Bill Maher ... he brings up the point (hilariously) that since the war on terror began, Americans were treated as victims instead of soldiers. Contrast that with how the nation behaved in other wars and you'll see that we have become a nation of whining, can't-stand-the-pain weenies. War is one civilization pitted against another (paraphrasing) -- as it should be. Hell, it's funny that the flags we all put on our cars and outside our houses right after 9-11 were NOT made in the U.S.A. ...
The only worthwhile sacrifice, I think, is to get ourselves OFF of oil from the Middle East. The Wahabbis (the root of radical Islam's evil) have two exports: Oil and radical ideology.
That makes absolutely no sense. We are funding both sides of this war. Every dollar sent to our "friend" Saudi Arabia is a dollar that buys the bullets shot back at us or another dollar for the radical imam or another dollar for the export of radicalism.
Free, I agree with both you and Micheal Sisco. And the problem goes wider than just the war in Afghanistan. We continue to elect politicians who promise to do wonderful things for us and at the same time tell us it won't cost us a thing in either taxes or lifestyle.
President Obama talks about the boom to the economy that the "green revolution" will bring with great new jobs in environmental technology. But I have yet to hear him tell people that there will be any sacrifice involved in dealing with the problem of climate change. Will we really be able to continue to drive around in huge SUVs and heat 12,000 sq. ft. mansions to 70 degrees? Why won't politicians come straight with us about the fact that nothing is really free, and that if we want something, be it a war or a clean environment, we will have to pay for it?
The last President that asked us to sacrifice a bit or comfort for a worthy cause was Jimmy Carter. See the reward he got.
The problem is not with the politicians, it's with us. We hired them.
@Scott: I still have yet to understand why Carter continues to be so reviled by people. He is essentially a bridge between long GOP periods, and he did make an attempts to get us to sacrifice. They just blew up in his face.
We are now paying for the economic sophistry that Reagan and his lot foisted upon us, and the idea of American selfishness grew precipitously during the age of Reagan. We are proud of being so selfish now, and it's a shame.
You say tax, whether in times good or bad, and people lose their minds. Cutting spending is not going to be sufficient, if say the Department of Defense's budget is off the table (though I appreciate what Obama is attempting to do there). When Republicans talk about shrinking government, they mean social programs and anything that helps the poorer folks in the country.
Here is a blurb about an outreach Xerox is doing. You just pick from a bunch of cards designed by kids, send one of a large choice of messages, or write your own.
There are examples of cards recently sent (great heartfelt messages - none political).
It's a way to reach out, and randomly send a soldier a piece of your humanity.
Meanwhile, I'm keeping it at 54 degrees inside today, and relying upon a small ceramic heater at my feet to warm only where I'm sitting.
Sacrifices are about doing without, and giving of one's self.
I'm just sayin'...
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XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL
If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.
This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's.
Thanks for taking to time to support our military!
Free: Not really a big fan of ANY attempt to restrict the U.S. military or scale it back in any way. Like it or not, war has been an integral part of U.S. policy 'round the world (we have been at war -- real ones, not the weekend shootfests in the Mexican-American "war," or the first Gulf "war."
And that has led to the U.S. being the dominant power in the world -- the Rome of our age. All that thanks to our kick-ass military.
Our military exists to scare the living crap out of every other country and to kick the livin' hell out of them if they cause us any trouble.
It has worked for more than two centuries (more effectively since "Lend-Lease") so let's not mess with it.
Free: Oops, forgot to include the rest of my thought ... we have been at war for at least 10 percent of our existence. We are a nation that started with war and we've used it effectively since.
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