As a man formerly enlisted in Vietnam, I have to conclude that only an officer, or future officer, could come up with such egregious nonsense as Kathleen Polesnak's column, "Why I will go to war for this country" (SN 3/15).
Air Force ROTC member Polesnak seems to feel that the military is all about bonhomie, brass buttons and singing the "Up in the Air, Junior Birdman" folk song.
Of course, none of this is about her, even though she uses the personal pronoun "I" some three dozen times. It's about nobility, honor and hail-fellow-well-met attitudes.
Garbage.
The U.S. military's about threatening other countries and invading them. It's about installing governments of thugs on the American payroll. It's about shooting up social gatherings, blowing up schools and burning down homes.
It's about kicking in front doors, dragging a father off for "questioning" while a mother pleads, children cry and soldiers scream (in English) "Lady, shut those damn kids up."
It's about fearing and shooting the shadows. And it's about death and missing limbs and spinal cords mashed all to hell.
At home, it's about political surveillance and dossiers. It's about breaking strikes, crushing urban uprisings and shooting students. And it's about robbing working people to pay for all of it.
It's nice when people try to fulfill their childhood dreams. The problem is that Polesnak's dreams ultimately involve death and suffering, and she thinks that taxpayers should foot the bill.
Kevin Kenney Okemos resident
http://www.statenews.com/op_article.phtml?pk=35485
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