Quote:
Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB
Though I understand Bush wanting to boost the spirits of those on the front lines and show his appreciation, I find his comments incredibly condescending. The man probably cannot even begin to imagine what it's like for our troops over there, since he's never been in combat, so where does he get off telling them how "dreamy" they should feel? It would be better if he would just say "Thank You" and give them the respect they deserve.
Though our military has a lot of pride in what they do, there's no doubt that MANY of our men and women do not want to be there...in the desert for years, watching their friends get their limbs blown off and fearing for their own lives every day. Oh, and then when they finally get home from war, their govt. sticks them in some of the crummiest hospitals around and offers them little in the way of counseling. George Bush had his chance to live like these men and women, but he didn't have the you-know-whats for it - I imagine many of them find his ramblings of "romantic" times on patrol absolutely laughable and out of touch, if not insulting.
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EXACTLY. It's completely insulting to say that being on the front lines is "romantic". The man's been watching too many John Wayne movies and Patton to know the truth. Telling the people who have lost friends and compatriots that fighting is exciting and romantic is absurd. In the beginning, a lot of my friends in the Army were excited to go and fight. They had talked about preparing for war, but never actually getting to do it. A lot of them compared it to a surgeon, preparing through med school and residency, only to never operate in the "real world." Fast forward to today... when many of my friends have been on 3 or more tours. All of them. They have lost friends in the fight, they are leaving home for 15 months at a time, marriages are destroyed and parents no longer know their children. Not to mention that there has been no real clear plan of how to win this thing. It is extremely disheartening.
I have devoted a lot of time to offering mental health services to soldiers and their families in this time of war. I've heard it all. Not being able to sleep, when you do sleep, having terrible dreams, being jittery and accidentally pulling a weapon on your spouse when they come up behind you. If W would spend just 1 hour of time getting the real story from these folks, he would realize that what he said is probably the most asinine thing anyone has ever said.