Two things;
1.This quote is so cliche! Why not ask: If you're so eager to have your accountant do your taxes why not become accountant, or if your so eager to go to the doctor for a check-up why not go to medical school!? The point is it takes all kinds of people to run this world and if everyone who wanted peace, justice and security just up and joined the Military, who would teach our kids, run our country and look after our sick. It's the individuals that make the choice to be in the Military, it's a non-conditional choice and one which they knew what they signed up for.
Seriously? You're comparing becoming an accountant to being shot at?
At no point did I say that only people who have served in the military should be entitled to ask for the military to do something....what I am saying is that BEFORE you ask someone to go into harm's way, UNDERSTAND what you're asking for. Make it worthwhile. Make sure it's done right. Make sure that when you are looking in the eye of a father who's only son is dead at the age of 36, you can say that his death meant something. Not that his death was the result of the fact that a social media campaign made it cool to be an "activist".
I understand this from two sides....I've volunteered for overseas duty in a very dangerous situation, and I've lost a family member to the war in Afghanistan. I don't have an issue with speaking up for what you believe in. What I have an issue with is this slick, over-produced social media campaign that is pressing for a difficult goal to be achieved using unrealistic methods...and then saying that they will keep the pressure on until the job is done. Do you even have the background knowledge to understand how long 100 SF advisors will take to make a real difference in a counter-insurgency campaign that's been active for the past 25 years? Or to comprehend the environment they are operating in? Or understand the type of death they will have if the end up in the hands of the LRA? Al Qaeda doesn't have anything on the LRA when it comes to doing unpleasant things to those they've captured.
Those 100 SF advisors volunteered to make a difference for THEIR country, and to be a force for good in the world. They did it with the expectation that wisdom and sound judgement would be used before they were expected to stand in harm's way. Are you honestly saying that because they volunteered, their expectation is null and void? That they can now be deployed willy-nilly to get shot at in whatever place is the flavour of the week?
As members of a society that enjoys peace and security in the shelter formed by the men and women of our police services, fire departments, and especially military services, we have two responsibilities to those who have offered to go in harm's way for us. The first is to do everything in our power to ensure that those whom we elect to positions of authority do not place them at risk in a cavalier fashion. The second is to show a little bit of gratitude - which is something that I find sorely lacking in your comments. "They knew what they signed up for" is an incredibly selfish comment to make when we're talking about the potential end of a person's life. A comment that could only be made by a child who has spent their life sheltered behind the bodies of those who have chosen to stand in harm's way.
Topic: Watch this, and it will change you. (Read 9397 times)