Wednesday
02/09/05
Let The Eagle Soar...!
There are few things I enjoy more in the midst of a long, snowy winter than the reprieve from its attendant gloom provided by a few unexpected days of bright sunny weather during which the mercury shakes off its own seasonally induced despondency and rises fearlessly through the forties and into the fifties. Certainly days such as these are false harbingers of an early spring to come, but, as they say, beggars cant be choosers, so it was during one of these recent glorious days that my lovely bride and I donned a pair of stout walking shoes (that would actually be one pair for each of us) and made our way outside for a quick stretch of the legs around the neighborhood.
It had been a while since we had been for a walk along our streets, so naturally there were all sorts of subtle changes in the neighborhood; a new fence here and a freshly re-shingled shed there, that sort of thing. As our stroll continued though, I began to notice several other additions as well. There were, for instance, at least four or five houses that sported banners and flags proclaiming the inhabitant's support for our brave troops overseas. One rather large banner actually featured not only Old Glory, but also a particularly fearsome missile-toting eagle and the slogan "We support our troops!" I quickly glanced away with a vague sense of shame, afraid that I might betray myself.
As our walk continued it wasnt long before my Lovely Bride, ever sensitive to my fickle moods, made a point of noting my growing discomfort until I had no choice but to admit to her that I had recently been toying with the thought of supporting our troops but, much to my embarrassment, I wasnt really quite sure how to begin.
Does one start off simply with just a little bit of support for our troops and then ease into a small flag, or does one start by displaying something along the lines of that missile-toting eagle banner which will then automatically start the support flowing? I do, for instance, fly a flag on all veteran related holidays, yet I began to worry that displaying the Stars and Stripes might be seen as more of a statement of approval for our Republic as a whole rather than our troops in particular.
And then, just to add to my confusion, there are the placards impaled on stakes outside other houses that, rather than keeping us informed of the level of troop support maintained by the inhabitants of that particular house, demand instead that all passers by "Support Our Troops." It just all seems like a lot of responsibility to be pressed on me by a rather shrill, mass-produced poster.
Or... (as I continued wondering aloud to my ever patient spouse) is it just possible that one need not engage in testosterone fueled public displays of fervent patriotism in order to "support our troops?" Could it be that quieter, more useful action might be more practical? Like, for instance, voting against the administration that put our troops in harms way under false pretenses in the first place? Like, for instance, voting for representatives who chose to oppose gutting veteran's benefits beginning with the 2002 budget? Like, for instance, actually getting out a pen and sending a check to Operation Air Conditioner because our troops were sent into hell without basic logistical support? Like, for instance, having the patience to blog and publicly explain to the other half of America for the umpteenth time the spectacularly obvious fact that one can oppose a war and still support our troops? (It's probably about there that I stopped and took a deep breath while my Sweetie controlled the urge to sigh and roll her eyes at me. It's one of the reasons I like her.)
So, as my Lovely Bride and I made the last turn back onto our street and approached our missile-and-eagle-free home, she patted my arm and asked if I felt better after my little rant. I took another deep breath and considered that the sun was still shining and the birds were still singing; indeed, Donald Trump is still firing people and Madonna's slide into irrelevance continues, as do all the natural cycles of life. And, in just that spirit, as soon as we got home I sat down in front of my laptop with a steaming cup of joe and began conjuring up yet another new way to spell it all out for the world.
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Let The Eagle Soar...!
There are few things I enjoy more in the midst of a long, snowy winter than the reprieve from its attendant gloom provided by a few unexpected days of bright sunny weather during which the mercury shakes off its own seasonally induced despondency and rises fearlessly through the forties and into the fifties. Certainly days such as these are false harbingers of an early spring to come, but, as they say, beggars cant be choosers, so it was during one of these recent glorious days that my lovely bride and I donned a pair of stout walking shoes (that would actually be one pair for each of us) and made our way outside for a quick stretch of the legs around the neighborhood.It had been a while since we had been for a walk along our streets, so naturally there were all sorts of subtle changes in the neighborhood; a new fence here and a freshly re-shingled shed there, that sort of thing. As our stroll continued though, I began to notice several other additions as well. There were, for instance, at least four or five houses that sported banners and flags proclaiming the inhabitant's support for our brave troops overseas. One rather large banner actually featured not only Old Glory, but also a particularly fearsome missile-toting eagle and the slogan "We support our troops!" I quickly glanced away with a vague sense of shame, afraid that I might betray myself.
As our walk continued it wasnt long before my Lovely Bride, ever sensitive to my fickle moods, made a point of noting my growing discomfort until I had no choice but to admit to her that I had recently been toying with the thought of supporting our troops but, much to my embarrassment, I wasnt really quite sure how to begin.
Does one start off simply with just a little bit of support for our troops and then ease into a small flag, or does one start by displaying something along the lines of that missile-toting eagle banner which will then automatically start the support flowing? I do, for instance, fly a flag on all veteran related holidays, yet I began to worry that displaying the Stars and Stripes might be seen as more of a statement of approval for our Republic as a whole rather than our troops in particular.
And then, just to add to my confusion, there are the placards impaled on stakes outside other houses that, rather than keeping us informed of the level of troop support maintained by the inhabitants of that particular house, demand instead that all passers by "Support Our Troops." It just all seems like a lot of responsibility to be pressed on me by a rather shrill, mass-produced poster.
Or... (as I continued wondering aloud to my ever patient spouse) is it just possible that one need not engage in testosterone fueled public displays of fervent patriotism in order to "support our troops?" Could it be that quieter, more useful action might be more practical? Like, for instance, voting against the administration that put our troops in harms way under false pretenses in the first place? Like, for instance, voting for representatives who chose to oppose gutting veteran's benefits beginning with the 2002 budget? Like, for instance, actually getting out a pen and sending a check to Operation Air Conditioner because our troops were sent into hell without basic logistical support? Like, for instance, having the patience to blog and publicly explain to the other half of America for the umpteenth time the spectacularly obvious fact that one can oppose a war and still support our troops? (It's probably about there that I stopped and took a deep breath while my Sweetie controlled the urge to sigh and roll her eyes at me. It's one of the reasons I like her.)
So, as my Lovely Bride and I made the last turn back onto our street and approached our missile-and-eagle-free home, she patted my arm and asked if I felt better after my little rant. I took another deep breath and considered that the sun was still shining and the birds were still singing; indeed, Donald Trump is still firing people and Madonna's slide into irrelevance continues, as do all the natural cycles of life. And, in just that spirit, as soon as we got home I sat down in front of my laptop with a steaming cup of joe and began conjuring up yet another new way to spell it all out for the world.
