Dusting off the soapbox...

I am fed up. Pissed. Angry.

I read a story on MSNBC (and no, this is not going to be a rant on the quality of MSNBC news stories) about a military hospital in Afghanistan showing a spike in patients. No fucking kidding. Fact is, we are pulling out of Iraq, but being in Afghanistan is and has been a far worse and riskier place to the lives of U.S. troops. The only reason why we didn’t see more casualties in Afghanistan than we have in Iraq is because there have been many more US troops in Iraq. Statistically there are just as many, if not more, troops killed in Afghanistan than there are in Iraq. It’s a war. Troops die. That is what happens. That isn’t even what is pissing me off.
The article was about some soldiers who were just injured and or killed in a roadside bomb that blew up their humvee. It ended with the following: "In the intensive care ward nearby, Vandergrift lay beside the one other soldier in his Humvee who survived. The soldier may be paralyzed. Holding a guitar, Vandergrift strummed a song for his friend: "The Star Spangled Banner".

Love the fact that one soldier was playing a song for his injured friend and fellow soldier. Love the camaraderie that US troops have with one another when they are fighting together. It’s all kittens and rainbows. What bothers me beyond reason is the choice of song. A song choice that says to me that the troops actually believe they are over there fighting for the freedom of America.

While I believe that as a member of the military we are paid to do a job that sometimes requires us to sacrifice our very lives in the name of OUR freedom, we need to call this what it is. We aren’t over there fighting for the rights of Americans. We are over there fighting for the Afghani’s. It has nothing to do with the freedom of our country. U.S. troops are being blown up by a bunch of insurgents and terrorists. And they aren't dying for their country. I remember September 11th just as well as everyone else, and I realize that our borders are not immune to the horrors that can be inflicted by extremists. Even so, last time I checked I still have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I still have my freedom of/from religion. Still have my freedom of speech. Afghanistan isn’t a threat to any of it. I will continue to have that freedom. The risk of me dying from a terrorist action within my own country is far less than the risk I face of being killed in a drive by shooting from a US citizen. No one lives risk-free lives, here or in any other part of the world. But that doesn’t take away my freedom as an American. And getting the hell outta dodge wouldn’t take that freedom away either.