Not long ago, I was chastised -- again -- for being negative, for making other people feel like they were stupid, for not being interesting. I know, it's an odd combination, but I didn't make it up. I was on the receiving end. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was aggravating others by telling them that what they thought was wrong. And all the while, I thought I was merely emphasizing that sometimes it does us all good to reflect on what we think. Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense to others.
Case in point: recently I saw a picture someone posted on Facebook (where else?) that just struck me as all kinds of wrong, and I didn't say anything, but I have no idea what is going on in the head of the person who posted it. I've tried, but I just don't get it. It was a picture of former President George W. Bush jogging with a guy with an artificial leg. The small print said that he (W.) had promised to work out with a vet, so I'm guessing that's who the other guy was. The big-print caption said "Honorable Men". I don't get it. Maybe it's the planet I'm from, because I'm beginning to suspect that I may not be from this one.
I don't know the vet. I'm going to give the phototaker the benefit of the doubt that the guy actually was a vet and lost his leg, I'm going to assume, in one of those needless, unnecessary wars that America is so dead-set on waging. Maybe he is an honorable person. I would like to think that his intentions in signing up for the military and maybe even pursuing a career there was motivated by some sense of duty and that he thought he could do something good by taking a post in our so-called first line of defense.
Anyone even in moderate touch with reality, however, knows that war is literally hell and more people are damaged by it than are killed in it. Too many otherwise upright, honest and honorable human beings are put into situations that are simply degrading, dishonest and horrific. When people are forced through that, when they do what they have to do to survive, does it tarnish their honor? I don't know, but judging by the number of vets who come back with PTSD, I'm guessing it does something to them that doesn't make them personally feel so honorable anymore. I think we need to do something about that, starting with not putting people in the position to get so screwed up in the first place, but when we do, I think we also have the responsibility to help these folks get back on their feet again. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening.
So, the vet gets a bye. I'm not here to project my own sentiments onto the poor guy. I feel bad that he had to lose a leg, to be sure. I'm glad to see that he is apparently trying to overcome the tragedy. I want to believe that his heart was and is in the right place, and that perhaps he even believes that he can set an example for others. I've got no qualms, no problem with any of that.
In short, I'm willing to concede, at this point, that there is (very likely) an honorable man in the picture.
But what about the other guy?
I know that this is going to be terribly unpopular with some people, but I would at least like the opportunity to explain why I'm having some doubts ... but that will have to wait for next time.
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