Anyways, on facebook, I follow Sarah Palin as a joke, because to me, thats all she is. Sometimes I get a good laugh out of her (or should I say, her PR person's) posts, because they're always just so "American"...but today was different. Today, I was offended. Not as someone who was affected by 9/11 (because in reality, I wasn't), or as an American (as I'm Canadian. I know all you foreigners think we're pretty much the same, but contrary to popular belief, we're not!), but as a Political Science major and just a person in general. Here is the post.
"Ten years ago today, ordinary Americans went to work or boarded a plane and found themselves fighting on the frontlines of a battle they did not choose. They acquitted themselves with grace and courage, just as the thousands of men and women who enlisted to fight in our armed forces—many on the anniversaries of this day—in order to exact justice for their fellow Americans. We will never forget those who died ten years ago today, we will never forget those who died in the war that started on that day, and we ask God to comfort and bless their families. From across this great nation, grateful Americans honor those who defend our homeland. God bless America.
- Sarah Palin"
The part in bold/italics is the part that offended me, as I find it very inappropriate. It just seems like a sentence to really get those real right wing folks on board with her, and is no better of a statement than "Show me the birth certificate". We never seem to remember all the tens of thousands innocent Afghan's and Iraqi's that have died over the last 10 years, due to the "war that started on this day", but we will the few thousand Americans. It just kind of makes me feel uneasy to see someone essentially classify these wars, as wars of revenge (which they totally were), just to stay relevant in the Political system. Patriotism is a bitch I guess, and all these politicians have to capitalize on it (and that's about all shes good for).
Now, don't get me wrong here. There have also been plenty of American troops who have passed on in these wars, and whose families lives have been put through many trials. Every person serving in the military deserves their credit and our support, even if you don't support the wars that they serve in. On a side note, I'd like to give a shout out to my main man Al Penwasser, and his post on 9/11. He was serving in the military at the time, and has a really good perspective; check it!
Anyways, thats just my liberal 2 cents. Time to go watch football, and finish my healthy cereal (ugh, I still can't believe I'm on this). I'm making my girlfriend watch football for the first time, and to keep it interesting, I'm making her count every time they say either "football" or "coverage". This should be hilarious.