Yellow Ribbons Don’t Measure Real Support
Yellow Ribbons on Cars Don’t Measure Real Support — Douglas MacKinnon, Houston Chronicle
Hat Tips to Dave Maxwell and Mac McAllister for pointing to this op-ed.
Who in the United States really supports our troops? If truth be told, basically nobody.
My former boss, Sen. Bob Dole — who was grievously wounded in combat during World War II and then spent the next three years of his life in various hospitals trying to survive and recover from his wounds — says this generation of soldiers, not his, is truly “The Greatest Generation.” Over the course of the last few years, he has quietly visited with hundreds of wounded soldiers and been brought to tears, not only by their sacrifice, but also by their determination to rejoin their fellow soldiers back in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Bob Dole, who clearly supports our troops, may think of them as “The Greatest Generation,” not many of us agree with his very accurate assessment. Out of a nation of now 300 million people, who really cares about the young men and women we send into harm’s way?
Let’s see. Those on active duty obviously care, their families care, veterans care, a small number in the media care, some states like Texas care more than others, and a minute amount of the national population actually cares. But for the vast majority of the rest America, the young men and women who serve on the front lines and protect us from evil are all but invisible. They don’t exist in our lives, they occupy no space in our minds, and their sacrifice goes unnoticed and unappreciated…
Go to the link to read it all.
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