Support The Troops

I got an email from a friend of mine about the need to support the troops. The email compared the hardships a hypothetical “you” feels with the hardships a soldier serving in Iraq. Here are a few excerpts:

You stay up for 16 hour.
He stays up for days on end.

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.

You put on your anti war/don’t support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

You’re angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He’s told he will be held over an extra 2 months.

You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him.

If you don’t support your troops well, then don’t repost, it’s not like you know the men and women that are dying to preserve your right…

This is not some humble request from some ubiquitous entity known as “the troops” to be respectful; this is a bunch of absurd tear jerking comparisons someone thought it would be appropriate to slap together and turn into a chain email. Everyone has their own challenges, and it is wrong to say that your challenges don’t matter because someone else faces different challenges. It is wrong to say that someone’s struggles matter less because someone else struggles more. Life isn’t measured by comparisons unless you want to try to shame someone, like this attempts to do.

This email is cavalier enough to assume we all run around wearing “fuck the troops” t-shirts and criticize soldiers in our spare time and then live self-indulgent, hateful lives. But, it’s not bold enough to mention the politicians who started the war; the politicians and business war profiteers who are financially benefiting from the war; the military officials who signed stop-losses on soldiers; the politicians who won’t set specific objectives, goals, or deadlines.  No, this email tells you that it is your fault the soldiers are shaken awake by mortars and forced to stay months after their contract is over.  It is clearly your fault “the troops” don’t have enough food, water, or supplies (or combat armor).

I would like to go line by line and rail against this email, but it would be far too long and some are too easy.  The clutching the cross next to his dog tags sure is a heart-breaker, isn’t it?  It definitely evokes images of Platoon or Saving Private Ryan in my mind.  Must be absolutely true, because obviously all of the troops are devout Christians who pray to Jesus while clutching their cross on the battlefield.

These are the sound-bytes that are hurting free speech in this country.  The nation needs to learn that dissension is not unpatriotic.  Dissension is part of the democratic process – the very thing we are attempting to instill in other countries.  It’s true that not every nation grants as much liberty as the United States, but it doesn’t mean that your right to disagree is some cushy privilege that you don’t deserve since you aren’t serving in the military.  I dare not even imagine what the country would be like if everyone who wanted the rights provided for in our founding documents was required to actively serve in the military.  Criticizing the government, in the situation we’re currently faced with, is support for the troops.  Supporting the troops means criticizing the government that uses stop-loss tactics and doesn’t provide adequate armor. Supporting the troops means criticizing the government that attempts to increase troop levels arbitrarily with no end in sight and no clearly defined goals or objectives.

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Not to drag this out much further, but the “anti-war/don’t support the troops shirt” line made me kind of laugh, actually.  Does anyone have a “don’t support the troops” shirt?  I’m not sure I have ever seen one.  Though, I have seen plenty of yellow ribbons with the affirming version of the catchphrase on plenty of SUVs.  Maybe, instead of paying $1 to a charity for a yellow ribbon sticker, you could not drive an SUV that fuels the instability that fuels the war.  Does anyone else get angry, and I mean really ANGRY when you see a shiny pick-up truck or SUV (that has clearly never seen a day of heavy hauling) with a “Support the Troops” sticker planted 12 inches above the exhaust pipe that churns out, literally, TONS of CO2 every year?

Youth and Debt

Suze Orman has made it an unofficial anthem of the youth generation of today: young, fabulous and broke.  Many 20-somethings in America complain that there’s no money for the young; that by the time you’re old enough to enjoy your money, you don’t want to anymore.  Or, we want to party and travel and adventure and live modest lives paying our bills and doing what we need to do when we’re older – once we’re past this “phase” in our lives.  Yes?

Many advisers from all walks (financial advisers, career advisers, parents, relatives, counsellors) will tell youngsters to save their money – don’t buy that something or other, don’t throw that party to celebrate whatever, don’t go to wherever.  You need to save for that retirement nest egg, right?

That’s not what people want, though.  People want to adventure, travel, party, and enjoy themselves now.  The time in people’s lives where they are capable of enjoying such extravagances and hi-jinks is when they are young thrill-seekers.  I don’t know about all of you, but I can’t imagine myself enjoying getting lost in a big city and tossing some cash to eat at some crazy scary hole in the wall diner when I’m 50.  But, I would totally enjoy such endeavors while I’m vibrant and adventurous.  Spend now, pay for it later is what a lot of people, myself included, would like to indulge in.

Now look at the way the market of debt operates in this country; it is exactly what today’s youth generation demanded.  People now have the option to incur massive debt and pay for it over long stretches of time, well into their adult lives.  I’m not saying it is the responsible or even sensible thing to do.  I certainly haven’t taken out swatches of credit cards to live an indulgent youthful life (though I sometimes dream of being so reckless).  But, the possibility exists, for better or for worse.  People have the power to live the lives they think they should while they’re young, pay for it for the rest of their lives by being good model credit customers.

Unfortunately, the need for credit doesn’t end with youth in America.  The sad truth is that you can incur thousands of dollars in credit card debt right out of high school, but what about that car loan?  How about that $200,000 mortgage when you’re 30 and settling into a career?  How about the credit you’ll be taking out for a wedding or your kid’s college education?  It is pretty much a hard hitting reality that the average American couldn’t possibly live without debt.  Even if you’re a model credit card client and pay off your balance every month, you still needed that little pinch extra for gas or that birthday present for your best friend.  You still needed to sign a three year car loan or five year car lease for your car.  It is pretty much impossible to live even a comfortable life without some cushion of debt.

Allow me to briefly contrast this with Japan.  In Japan, credit exists, but not nearly as widespread or necessary as it is in America.  You typically earn enough, even as an average wage earner to indulge occasionally in the things you want outside of your necessities.  You can carry a large sum of money in your wallet in cold cash and not in credit cards or debit cards.  This isn’t just because of the differences in the debt culture, but also because of the drastically reduced crime rate.  But the fact remains, people have the physical money to pay for things and don’t need to defer to liquid money.  People don’t live on liquid bank accounts and credit lines.  People make the money they need to live and even modestly indulge without needing loans for everything.

Back to reality though, can you imagine carrying $1000 in your wallet or pocketbook and no credit cards or bank cards?  Can you imagine paying for a car with actual money and not signing a legally binding lease?

Bizzaro.