On Elmo and War

First, a belated happy Memorial Day to veterans and those in battle abroad. Your undying support for this country is why we are one of the world superpowers. For this, this is for you.

Last week, the Senate voted 75 to 22 in favor of the new GI Bill, written by Sen. James Webb (D-VA), which would allow for the expansion of education benefits for veterans who have served for at least three years since the attacks on our nation on 11 September 2001. It is also a bill that will be vetoed by our President, who states that the bill costs too much for the Armed Forces, as it would promote people to remain in the Army for one round of service. However, this marks a long line of malfeasance towards the troops by this President. For a man such as Sen. John McCain(R-AZ) to oppose the bill, this is okay; while it is indeed odd that McCain, who is a champion of veteran’s affairs, to oppose the bill, at least he has the military credibility and experience to back up his decision. But for a man who has never served in our armed forces, never gone overseas for our country, never had one mite of patriotism aside from a flag pin- the ultimate sign of standing draped in a flag to cover the Emperor’s New Clothes-such as our president, this is out of turn.

The Presidency ought to be the greatest champion of our military’s affairs. Just before the troops’ return from World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed the first GI Bill of 1944, granting the majority of WWII vets to gain a college education upon their return home. In 1952, Harry S. Truman passed the Veteran’s Adjustment Act, which offered benefits to veterans of the Korean conflict upon their return home. In 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson, another champion of social reform, passed the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act, so that, at the very least, veterans of the quagmire of a war such as the one in Vietnam would be able to go to school. These Presidents did the responsible thing. Now it is Mr. Bush’s turn to make good to his promise of “supporting the troops.”

Oh, wait. That’s right: this man believes that the phrase “support the troops” is a sentiment on a Hallmark card, or a bumper sticker, or a little magnet. In his 2004 campaign, this president joked about the troops and WMD in Iraq, which he so asserted with such vim and vigor that some even thought it was there without even attempting to connect the dots. This is the same man who will not even support timetables to leave Iraq, saying that it is a path to failure, even though soldiers are going into their second, third, and sometimes fourth tours of duty. This is the same man who went AWOL as a member of the Alabama Air National Guard to campaign for a republican senatorial candidate, and the same man who was given special treatment as a First Lieutenant in the Texas Air National Guard. A man, who never wore a uniform of the armed forces, and desecrated the uniform of the National Guard, is now trying to state that what is right for the troops and what will be good is, in fact, wrong.

And the effect of Mr. Bush’s lack of care towards the veteran’s affairs have been great. Five weeks ago, Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization which produces such children’s television shows as the mega-hit Sesame Street released the Talk, Listen, Connect Program, a set of videos geared towards children that need to understand that their mother or father is going to Iraq, or is returning, or has suffered a disability from what is nearly unexplainable to a child, the idea of war. While in practice, this is a brilliant idea by the folks at the USAF and Sesame Workshop, as it aids families’ reactions to the war with the use of Muppets Elmo and Rosita as their parents leave for and return from Iraq. But in thought, not only is it saddening, it is horrifying.

The reason it is horrifying is that it still has to occur; the children’s lack of understanding, the children’s cries and wails on the subject. No parent- nay, no human- wants to hear their child say, “Why is daddy leaving?” “Why has he left three times in the past five years?” “Why can’t mommy be here for my birthday; why does she have to be away?” “Why does mommy not have a real leg?” This is the despicable act of this man and this presidency, for, first and foremost, the President-not non-profit organizations, not the Joint Chiefs, not the Senate, not the House-but the President must be a champion for veteran’s affairs!

These men and women are valiant individuals, the cream of their crop, the valor of our nation-yet this president has tarnished it, and not even given one thought to polish it back to the way it was! Why is it that children have to understand that their parent won’t be around for another six months? Why do they have to understand this three, four times? Why must they understand that their parent will never be able to walk the way they did, or play catch with their children? Why do they have to understand why their parent is in a bag! Now we know. Not only does this president not have the idea of patriotism in place in his mind, but not even the idea of humanity instilled in his soul.