Memorial Day

There's a lady in my building who wishes me a happy Memorial day every year.  She knows every veteran in the building and respects us as heroes.

While functional, she's learning disabled and has struggled all her life with jeering and leering - people taking advantage of her and calling her names like Retard.  She's now very happy, working as a custodian at the University, riding the bus to and from work, and feeding her one true addiction: sports.  In exchange for vacuuming the hallways and mopping the lobby floor the building manager signed her up on one of their cable television accounts.  She gets the total sports package, she listens to sports radio while she works, and I and a few others in the building will read stories out of the sports page to her when we have time.

I usually just thank her for the well wishes and give her a pleasant, "You're welcome" when she thanks me for my service to the country.

How do I explain to her that I never served my country?  I wanted to.  I enlisted in order to fulfill a promise of service that is played out in every slogan, in every salute, in every casual mention of military service members by politicians or pundits.  When I raised my hand and took my oath, I believed there was a Constitutional basis for that service and I believed that the symbol of our flag needed defending. 

How do I explain to her that I served Chevron's interests and defending Coca Cola's expansionist aims?  How do I explain that I helped enforce the economic policies of United Fruit and made their exploitation of the environment and the people, the destruction of lives and manipulation of markets, more profitable?  How do I tell her that corporations expect military enforcement of their international interests while at the same time demanding (and receiving) massive tax reductions and when that's not enough, they move their headquarters and operations divisions to foreign countries where the tax burdens and regulatory pressures are lax or nonexistent.  Despite this they still expect the U.S. military to pressure governments in order to push into markets.  Despite this they expect full protections for their assets, legitimate or stolen, rightful or exploitive. 

How do I explain to her that I never served the U.S. Citizenry?  How do I explain to her that the Constitution never needed armed defense?  How do I explain to her that the flag was never endangered?  How do I explain that I was used like a cheap whore and those who are dead were used far worse than I was?

How do I answer misplaced patriotism?  I don't know how, but what I do is answer it with blatant cowardice.  "Thank you.  You're welcome for my service."

- rick, patriot

Comments

[Success Warrior]

I've been meaning to do a post on this subject but never get around to it. Maybe today is the day.

[a rose is a rose]

you did serve your country and it's people rick

you don't have to say anything other than 'thank you' or 'you're welcome' to the woman in your building or anyone else who mentions your service.

deep in our hearts we have always known the pockets of the good old white boy network have always been lined with gold.

i have a choice though. i can go and live in venezuala where my gas is cheap BUT i can't watch the unaltered news on television. OR i can stay where i am, not travel so much because gas is expensive and i can turn the tv (or radio) on and get some level of the truth (certain channels of course, NEVER faux news)

i'll never stop speaking my mind rick. that is my right and your right. my pockets will never be lined with gold, but i'll not have the deaths of many men and women staining my soul.

and rick, neither will you