"What business is it of yours if a soldier or marine comes home under a draped coffin? When he or she dies, they are no longer yours to worry about. They are given back to the family...and if the family approves you can gawk at their mis-fortune all you want. What's the matter with you?"
Gary, how can you honestly ask what business it is of mine if a soldier comes home under a draped coffin? If you call yourself a human being, then it's your business, I don't care who you are. This isn't spurred by some twisted need for "reality entertainment" or to "gawk," as you called it. Besides, what I'm referring to is the footage of the fallen being unloaded at Dover, which is before they are delivered to their families. Their families grieve, and so should we. How can you as a fellow citizen of this great nation not want the severity of the situation understood by everyone? Because I can tell you, there is a very real disconnect between Joe Public and the soldiers who are out there putting their lives on the line, and their families praying for them at home. People truly take it for granted, and it makes me sick. I view the military with the utmost respect because I know I don't possess that level of courage, and we all should thank our lucky stars that they're willing to give up everything voluntarily to protect us. Valor and honor don't even begin to describe them aptly. So I say to you, what is the matter with you? How can you expect people not to CARE? This isn't just politics--the political decisions are made but we so often do not see the real cost. There are still so many people who can't even be bothered to VOTE! People need to understand that these bodies are the cost of political decisions, and we as American citizens have a responsibility to EACH OTHER and to our NATION to take it seriously and be educated about it--or at the very least, to pay attention.
-Gary Kiser
AUS Retired
www.trea.org