I was going to post tales of Thanksgiving today, but I burned my leg in the kitchen. Ugh. I spilled hot water on myself, trying to keep Dawson out of the kitchen. My thigh looks like a blistered mess. My brothers are over, watching the Doodlebug for me…I’m going to bed post vicodin.
I’ll be back later. I hope.
Because I no longer have a job (long story, there) and because I’ve been cleaning my house, fighting with my child, filing with the Labor Relations Organization and trying to get ready for Thanksgiving, I completely forgot to PROMO my new blog renter!
The Great Blog Review is an awesome site! I’ve only had a chance to visit a few times, but it’s so fun! You’ve got to check this out! I said so. Now go! Okay, wait before you go, I’ll tell you what I’m up to today.
I’m blogging from my Mom and Dad’s because we’re spending Thanksgiving here. It’s quite insane and I promise to blog more about it when I’m sober!
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
Oh…and one more thing. John F. Kennedy died yesterday in 1963 and I completely forgot to mention that. I have been reading a book called The Kennedy’s: America’s Emerald Kings. It’s a looooootttta pages, but I love it. Doug and I are going to see Bobby, tomorrow, too!
Okay, now you can have a Happy (Less Drunken) Thanksgiving. AND don’t forget to visit that link up there!
I need a drink…and it needs to be a double. Let’s kick off this Thanksgiving holiday with one of those “I can’t hear my child’s temper tantrum!” concoctions. You know the kind….I think they call them Jaegerbombs or Kamikaze’s.
Just make it strong! Kapeish?
Cross-posted from BlogHer.
Three weeks ago, my brother Nathan returned home from Kuwait after 15 months of service for the military. To see this young man formerly known as “my little brother” arrive home; it really opened my eyes.
Nathan grew up. He’s mature. He has his own views on politics and the military that are separate from my views and those of our parents.
I asked my brother what he thought of the state of our government. I asked him how he learned about the happenings in the USA while he was so far away. I asked him what kinds of tasks he performed in that hot desert. I asked what he thought of the Rumsfeld resignation and the military remarks of John Kerry. I had a list of questions ready and
waiting, like an interview. Listening to him speak was beautiful. It still brings a tear to my eyes.
My brother explained he was responsible for searching vehicles for weapons, drugs, fraudulent identification papers, and illegal passports in Kuwait. It was imperative that no “shady” persons be admitted into secure places that they have no authority to enter. It was his job to make sure the base was secure, that all soldiers were safe and to provide assistance to those soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also searched Humvees to make sure they were safe and secure.
My brother participated in QRM’s or Quick Response Missions. He told me these are like “fire drills for the military.” These mock missions were practice in the event a base was bombed or attacked.
When I asked how he felt about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, my brother said, “I had always heard rumors of his leadership, how horrible it was. My generals often would tell us the man is doing his job poorly. But no one ever complained about it. We just did our jobs. All of us. We do what we are told to do. I have respect for any man or woman who serves or leads this country. It’s not an easy job. It’s not easy at all.”
Nathan went on to explain how each soldier may have their own opinion about Iraq, about government and about leadership, but they are all fighting for the common good. They are fighting for our country as well as for Iraq, and for Americans to believe everything they read or hear from the media, shows their own fear and ignorance about this war.
“War is not easy. You don’t win over night. You can’t just say it’s a piece of cake and hope things work out. There are men and women from America, from Poland, from England, who are there. Fighting for the same cause. We are helping the Iraqi’s to receive freedom. Freedom to have their own government, freedom for Iraqi women and children to receive an education. The list is large. If you can’t even see past your own noses, and see the good that we are bringing, than you have no right to demand withdrawal from Iraq.”
Nathan believes that withdrawal from Iraq at this early stage would undermine everything he and others worked so hard for. All the time away from family and friends. All the sacrifices they have made would be worthless.
“You can’t spend 15 months away from home, working hard to fight a war, only to hear that America wants you out. It’s one thing if the Iraqi people wanted the military removed from their country, quite another for your own country.
“We see the news, sometimes days late, but we see American politicians demanding our withdrawal. It angers me. Would any of those people do what I do? Let’s switch places. Would they go to Kuwait? Afghanistan? Iraq? They’ll see the horror, sure, but they’ll also see progress.”
His comment reminds me of weight loss. You don’t lose the fat overnight. You have to work at it.
Nathan felt that the military could have done things differently, however. Instead of the game of cat and mouse they played trying to get into Baghdad, they should have pushed through with more force. He felt American disapproval may have prevented the military from really accomplishing this task early on.
“Yes, the military needs new strategy. We of all people understand this, but we need American support even more.”
I asked my brother about John Kerry and his face turned sour.
“His remark about men and women who fail in school ending up there, is B.S. I’ve got a degree in computer engineering and he’s calling me stupid? Claiming that I wasn’t smart enough to do anything else? And then he has the nerve to pretend his remark was aimed at our President? It’s infuriating. President Bush is my commander in chief. It is my job to follow his commands. If John Kerry were president, I’d be just as loyal to him as I am to President Bush. But Kerry isn’t president and I think we all know there’s a reason why, after his dimwitted comment.
“My only wish is that America will finally support us and not talk against us. Arriving home to find out the Democrats are in power, worries me somewhat. I don’t know much about Nancy Pelosi, but I can only pray that she and the rest of the Dems will think of the soldiers in terms of the good work we do over there and not demand we redeploy. It will undermine everything we’ve worked for. Not just me, but the men and women who are in Iraq. They have to work much harder. They need our support.”
My brother spoke with such emotion. I could see how much he believes in the good and not the evil. He believes in our country, our government, our freedoms. I could see how happy he was to be home. When asked if he was going to re-sign for another term he replied, “I don’t know. My heart tells me it’s the right thing to do. I just want to be home for awhile. I want to be with my family and my friends, the people we’re fighting for. I know it’s the right thing to do, but it’s so very hard to decide. If it came down to it, if I was needed, I’d go back.”
It reminds me of that television show on ABC, Brothers & Sisters, the character Justin was called for a second term in Iraq, but didn’t want to go back to the war. He overdosed on drugs and his sister (played by Callista Flochart), a Republican in a family of Democrats, tried to get a pardon from a senator but Justin made the right decision to go back. However, characters on TV aren’t real people and they aren’t really going off to fight a war or serve their country. My brother did. I respect him so very much for the courage he had to complete his mission.
He’s taught me that it’s so easy to defend a war until you actually have to fight in a war. He defends the war in Iraq, but admits it took him a long time to believe it.
“In the beginning, I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t afraid. Then I missed my family. Then the doubt set in. Then I wondered what would happen. How would I survive? Finally I realized, if I don’t believe in myself, my battery, my leaders, what good am I? It’s a test of your beliefs. It really is.”
Contributing Editor Dana J. Tuszke also blogs at The Dana Files and Watch Blog.
