The Cost of Playing Politics
An open letter to the leaders and lawmakers of this land:
Rumor has it that those who serve in our military will continue to work if the government shuts down at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, but they won’t be paid. Apparently all “nonessential” government employees will be sent home until Congress passes the budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2011.
So, are the jobs which our military personnel perform essential or nonessential? If the troops aren’t going to get paid, I will translate that as “nonessential” work.
If military jobs are considered “nonessential”, and our deployed troops are not going to get paid, doesn’t that mean we need to bring them home now?
There is only one answer to that question and I don’t think I need to spell it out for you.
There was a time when I bought into the idea that the good old USA was the strongest nation in the world. I bought into the idea that, as the mightiest force, we could go into other countries to eliminate the bad guys and bring peace and good will to mankind.
I bought into the package with pride when my 17 year old son joined the United States Marine Corps and went on to serve three combat tours. I held my head high because my son was willing to sacrifice his life for the rest of us. I was proud to be a part of the nation that eliminated evil and restored the poor and less fortunate.
But that was a long time ago.
