Latest E-Mail from the Wingnuts: The Soldier

[Bake]

I have a wingnut uncle who forwards me email crap on a daily basis. Here's the latest. My response appears below:

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

American Freedom
Don't take it lightly!

Please support our troops by passing this message


And here's my reply:

That may be true. But it is the reporter -- not the current batch of toadies for the Administration, but the real ones, who ask the tough questions and print the truth for all to see -- who help preserve the right to a free press. And it is the lawyers (yes, I've got a vested interest here) who, for 200+ years, have **preserved** every citizen's right to a fair trial, even though some today seem anxious to give up that right in the name of security under the guise of the "USA PATRIOT Act" (a misnomer if there ever was one!), and who will in years to come continue to defend and restore the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights which the Founding Fathers put there in the first place. And dare I say it, it is those who burn the flag (a practice, let me hastetn to say, that I find overwhelmingly disgusting) who remind us what free speech is really all about in the first place.

I'm not belittling the ongoing contribution of the military, just giving credit where credit is due. The military serves an invaluable function, but I have no desire to live in a society run by the military, for such is not the society envisioned and devised by the Founding Fathers.

I **do** support our troops, and I urge everyone to do likewise. Support the troops by seeing that they are adequately paid, rather than having their pay CUT as the current Administration has done. Support the troops by taking care of those soliders who are injured in the line of duty, rather than CHARGING them for their meals while they are in the hospital. Support the troops by urging this Administration to get them basck home, OUT of Iraq, where they should never have been sent in the first place on an ill-advised, unprovoked, and likely illegal invasion.

******

I've already gotten responses from some of Unc's mass-mailing list saying, e.g., "We were given selective information. It is ashame so many on our military are being killed and injured."

Just my contribution for the day.

Bake

[bluestateguy]

1. I support the troops!

I don't want to give up my Bush tax cuts or my SUV or enlist in the military to fight all of the wars I am cheering on from my fat ass on the living room sofa, but I SENT AN E-MAIL TO SOME FRIENDS PRAISING THE TROOPS!

:eyes:

[TXlib]

2. I support our troops more than you do!

I want to post a sign saying that in our yard, to counter the "We support President Bush (sic) and our troops" signs in our neighborhood.