Where would you rather have been this past Saturday: relaxing in Beaver Stadium watching the Blue-White game, or scanning a road ahead of your Hummer for improvised explosive devices in the 105 degree heat of Fallujah, Iraq?
A letter to the editor published earlier this week complained about a military ceremony occurring at halftime during the Blue-White game. The letter expressed unhappiness that fans were asked to “applaud the choice of joining the military†and expressed disapproval that PSU was “glorifying†the military.
What this letter seems to miss is that those who decide to join the military in a time of war are making a conscious choice to risk their personal safety for our own behalf — and the writer’s. In today’s culture, such adherence to duty and selflessness are increasingly rare, but without them we would have no military, no sovereignty and no country. Deciding to go into the service is a respectable choice — one worthy of applause.
And let’s not forget — those who don’t find entering the service an appealing prospect should applaud even more loudly, because a volunteer army prevents the less willing or less able from being drafted.
While the letter points out that glorifying the military in front of impressionable children at the game is in poor taste, it should be more concerned about all of the children who idolize PSU athletes. Some of these worshipped athletes get hours of attention and cheers year-round despite their frequent embarrassing behavior. Comparatively, it seems utterly ridiculous and ungrateful to refuse to recognize service members for only a few seconds. These military men and women may go on to spend years away from their homes and families, be permanently injured or even die in the service of their country some day.
Attitudes such as these only further prove that American efforts to honor and care for our military men and women remain grossly inadequate — to our utter disgrace.
In February 2007, the Washington Post exposed poor living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the army’s premier hospital and outpatient facility. While some areas of the center were satisfactory, others exhibited broken walls, patches of black mold, holes in the ceiling, mice and cockroach infestations, stained carpets and cheap mattresses, according to the Post. This is the place to which one in four of our injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has returned.
And, earlier this year, a local coffee chain refused to donate coffee to the troops for fear of “taking sides†on the war issue. In my hometown, a large retail chain also refused to donate a treadmill to an injured Marine. The Marine was trying to rehabilitate his leg and faced financial difficulties relating to his medical care after an attack that has left him near death, completely blind and with permanent memory loss.
I appreciate that some Americans may be against the specific missions and conflicts our armed forces are currently carrying out. However, there is a need to separate the policymakers and the policy itself from those who are trained to take orders and carry them out. Some of these soldiers themselves may disagree with these policies. Disrespecting soldiers is not the appropriate way to show disapproval of government leaders or the foreign policy decisions of your country.
Our soldiers face danger and ill-will abroad; they should find nothing less than support and appreciation from the citizens at home. Clapping for our soldiers and thanking them for their sacrifices in no way implies agreement with the Iraq War. I am proud of our servicepeople and I am honored to have a chance to recognize them at our Blue-White game.
If you’re not, you might want to consider packing your bags for a country that doesn’t currently have the luxury and protection afforded by a well-established, united military.
I hear the weather’s nice this time of year in Iraq.
