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Dear Obama,
Before I get to the speech I'd love to hear you give, please note that this Memorial Day (at the invitation of our town's city fathers) I'll be giving a talk before the parade. Ours is a small town, and there won't be many there. I'll bet that most who do turn up to honor our troop's service will be middle class or working class members of our community. I don't expect to see many of my more swanky friends.
I never served but my Marine son did when he was deployed to President Bush's wars. I disagree with the President about invading Iraq, but I'm proud of my son's service. He didn't volunteer to serve an administration but our country.
I live on the Volvo-driving, higher-education-worshiping North Shore of Boston. I'm a novelist, not your usual "military parent" these days. I've learned a little about working class America -- especially the white Americans who live in places like West Virginia and Kentucky who provide an outsized contribution of men and women to our military.
Having my beloved child fight shoulder-to-shoulder with other people's children, while our kids were shot at and saved each other's lives, connected me to a bigger and better America than I knew existed before my son unexpectedly volunteered in 1999. Call me a snob, call me stupid, but I had a lot to learn about the people who protect me, something I wrote about in detail in Keeping Faith -- A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps.
Since, over the last 8 years I've written several books (and many Washington Post op-eds) about the military family experience, and since so many military folks write to me in response -- literally thousands -- I think I've learned something about the America that serves and what they -- what we -- care about.
Military service--who serves and who doesn't -- is a good shorthand summation of the class divide in America today. And the people who serve are the sorts of people your Obama For President campaign seems to be having trouble connecting with sometimes. So, as an enthusiastic supporter, I offer you this speech as a way to perhaps speak to some folks who need to learn more about you:
This Memorial Day let's honor our vets, our troops and the fallen with some truth-telling about service, the price of war and who serves these days and who does not.
Has Bush's war in Iraq impacted all Americans equally? No. It has mostly impacted working families.
Before George Bush launched his unnecessary war-of-choice in Iraq gas was two dollars a gallon. It's four now, heading to five. Why? Partly because the Bush administration destabilized our world, especially some of the most vital oil producing regions.
Before Bush sanctioned torture as a means to get information from our enemies, America was respected around the world.
Until George Bush -- against the advice of many of his military commanders--launched his war-of-choice in Iraq we were winning against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Until George Bush squandered the goodwill we had in the world, and made our country appear weak and incapable of military victory, by launching a dumb war in Iraq, America was both respected and feared and our military capability unquestioned.
Today we appear vulnerable to our enemies because Bush has overstretched our military. And John McCain wants to continue these mistaken Bush policies.
Bush and McCain say they are friends of our military. Are they? This Memorial Day let's honor our men and women who serve by telling the hard truth about the lack of real support they are getting from Bush and McCain.
President Bush has abused our sons and daughters by using a provision in the law called 'stop loss' that allows the government to demand extra service, beyond the amount of time a volunteer signed up for. This law was supposed to only be used in a true national emergency, not in some self-inflicted unnecessary war-of-choice. Stop loss has been used to draft our sons and daughters--the ones who already volunteered! -- while no one else in the country was asked to do anything more than go shopping and enjoy their tax cuts. Rather, I should say, enjoy tax cuts if they were wealthy.
It's time for working America--all of us--to get together and tell Bush and McCain that waving our flag or putting up a banner that says 'Mission Accomplished' or talking about 'victory' in Iraq isn't the same thing as actually showing support for the Americans who fight for us.
Senator James Webb has introduced a bill called the New GI Bill. It would give vastly improved educational benefits to all our men and women who have served the United States since 9/11. Senator McCain and President Bush are opposing the bill.
This new GI Bill has passed in the Senate but Bush says he'll veto it, and many Republicans are opposing it. Bush and McCain say that the bill would encourage our sons and daughters to leave the military and get a first-class education, instead of going to war again and again and again.
Bush and McCain are hypocritical. The spirit of their opposition to the New GI Bill, is the same spirit they've shown by being willing to use the stop loss measures to keep our kids in uniform, even after their time of duty is up. It is the spirit we see when Bush and McCain are lowering the taxes for the richest Americans, while asking the sons and daughters of working America to fight on and on and on. It's wrong.
With the Republicans in the White House all the breaks are going to the wealthy and the privileged. Working America, white or black, Asian and Hispanic is being left behind and actively discriminated against, abused and manipulated.
McCain and Bush refuse to trust our troop's patriotism. They say that if educational benefits are increased working people won't stay and serve. They're wrong. Those who serve are patriots. To question their patriotism because of college benefits is a low and mean-spirited insult.
The answer to our military's recruiting problems is to have a commander-in-chief who doesn't abuse our military but only sends our men and women into combat as a last resort, for instance as I will send them to Afghanistan and if need be into Pakistan, to hunt down and capture or kill bin Laden.
It's time we see through Bush and McCain's loud talk about patriotism and ask them what is so patriotic about pushing working America into bankruptcy by driving oil prices through the roof because of a dumb war on the one hand, and by mostly asking only working Americans, to serve on the other? When was the last time Bush asked our elite to volunteer?
What is so patriotic about refusing the sons and daughters of working America the same comprehensive-type of GI Bill our fathers got after World War Two?
This Memorial Day let me be clear: I want to honor those who served and serve by ending George Bush and John McCain's war-of-choice. I want to bring our troops home. I want to get back to a fair military where soldiers serve the amount of time they volunteered for not a day more.
And when our young men and women have served I want to thank them by providing a first-class education from a grateful nation.
With a strengthened military, one that's no longer stretched to the limits and beyond, I will pursue our real enemies and protect our actual security. I want to truly support our troops, not just have photo ops with them.
When I am President I will take the trillions of dollars Bush and McCain keep wasting in Iraq, and find alternative energy solutions so that the price of oil won't matter. We'll build roads and railways and schools and create jobs so that working America may prosper and we can all move forward.
That is how we'll make America strong again. That is an America our enemies will fear. That is how we'll honor those who gave their lives so that we may live free."
Frank Schaeffer is a writer and author of "CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back"
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Defending the idea of democracy is just as important as those we entrust to protect the democracy we have. We are in the middle of a knock down, drag out, 12 round, battle royal for the heart and soul of our democracy. I know where I stand in this fight as an American, as a veteran, as a citizen of the world. I know Senator Obama stands with me on the moral and ethical side of the line. Don’t be afraid to let troops know who really has their backs, and who is just blowing smoke up their ass. Ultimately I have hope they will figure it out for themselves by November, but a little help never hurts.
Have a happy Memorial Day.
Obama has the right people, doing the right things by the military, talking about doing the right thing by way of diplomacy, and if it hasn't come off clear enough yet, maybe Hillary should get her ass out of the race so we can start making it abundantly clear... McCain will get people killed and force them to fend for themselves when they get home, Obama will find them better health care, better mental health care, help them to provide for their future, and make sure they only go to fight as a last resort when it is absolutely necessary. Being poor does not make you a fool. Joining the military does not mean you were too dumb for college and just avoiding going to jail. Some of the most incredible people I have ever had the honor of knowing were enlisted men and women in the trenches. They know what they have to do in November in their heart, they just might need some help to hear the truth.
The sad truth is we are still struggling with Vietnam. Trying to keep those vets drug/ alcohol/ dependency free, keep them off the streets… keeping them sane. With this war guys who would have died 40 years ago now live from combat with horrific injury. If we don't intend to repeat our society's problem we have to better address the real problems. That is going to be a massive undertaking with government help. Medical, mental, educational, and diplomatic so we don't perpetuate the cycle. Asking the Republican party to come to the table with huge amounts of social services is about as likely .
McCain was a hero of his own time, had he just stuck to being the guy we respected for all those years he would have been a good President, Republican or not. He didn't though; in the past couple years he has sold his soul to the far right. There is no room for respect from the military for that. He is selling troops short now and they know it now. So, new veteran leaders are emerging, guys like Jim Webb and Patrick Murphy among them. This new breed of warrior turned legislator support Obama, and for good reason. We are no longer trying to build up to make war, but instead address the issues of de-escalation. That idea connected with the military’s connection to the Presidency is not lost on our soldiers, seamen, airmen, and marines.
"Asking the Republican party to come to the table with huge amounts of social services is about as likely as them increasing taxes on the super wealthy while taking a piss on the bible they love to hide behind."
Doesn't sound like much to ask of the greatest nation in the world but it is a lot for some reason, and all 3 of those things are needed as a result of having served.
Then we get to the covenant, the bond all Presidents have to uphold for every member of the military and their family. We risk our lives to protect our country, in return our boss the President, does not put our lives needlessly in danger. Bush broke that, over 4000 of my brothers, my friends killed in combat, numerous others died at their own hand later, and countless thousands of Iraqis are dead just so the MIC could cash in, and oil could get up to $200.00 a barrel in the next couple years. Their lives were worth more than that. He broke that bond and by proxy so has the Republican party. They have shown they care about war, but not about the warriors, their solid opposition to the GI Bill only exemplifies this.
#1
Speaking as a younger vet, I just wanted to say I am grateful for your writings, and just wanted to add to it a bit. I think Obama is connecting, the road is slow but it is happening, by November I wouldn't worry much at all, here's why.
Most guys I know asked for nothing more than the opportunity to serve. It wasn't about college, or pay, or travel, or learning some exotic skill set only the military could provide. It was about pride in our country, and answering when they needed us. Not everyone was idealistic, yet few had any illusions or separate motives about what they were doing.
The new GI Bill is great. I sincerely wish they had done it 20 years ago. Faced with parents who disqualified me from getting aid but barely survived themselves, watching the Pell Grants dry up, and tuition increasing astronomically, the GI Bill (that I paid into mind you) was a sad insulting joke. I didn't sign up for an education though. It was an added benefit. I do think it is vital today for a lot of guys. They may not ask for it but our society does owe them something (bullshit Bush war or not) and it's not just education. Adequate lasting medical care, available mental health services, and either vocational training or college have to be part of the dialogue.
But your preamble bothers me a bit. You say
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"I've learned a little about working class America -- especially the white Americans who live in places like West Virginia and Kentucky who provide an outsized contribution of men and women to our military. "
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Are you aware that black Americans, who support Senator Obama in the majority, are represented in the military in percentages far greater than their proportionate population?
You should look into that, if you see yourself as an expert on "military families" and neglect to even mention it in your blog here.
Please leave out your preamble which does disservice to the many OTHERS that are serving. The rest of your article is on the money.
I imagine Shaeffer's speech to be in the same vein. Use a moment that should belong to those who died in the service of our Country to promote his own politics.
FDR and others like him have had their legacy drowned by the corporate lobbyist directed DLC wing of the party. People like John Edwards and Barack Obama and Ted Kennedy and others are trying to restore the Democratic Party as the party of working Americans. The Clinton wing of the party wants to continue Bill's legacy of corporate influence. If you don't believe me, please read the FEC filings on all three candidates still in the race. Hillary is the most corporate backed of any candidate who ran this year.
To go "back" to the roots of the Democratic Party, we need to skip over the corporate Clintons and go back to FDR. That's what the people you wrongly label "leftist" are trying to do.
Approximately 1% of the eligible public volunteers for active duty, and that 1% is spread evenly throughout the United States. Obama has a problem with women over the age of 65 and they obviously don't fit your analysis. Also, Obama is supported by the majority of white working white voters except in the deep south and Appalachia. White hard working white voters in Oregon, Washington, Iowa, etc., don't seem to have a problem with him. For that matter, actual real military people don't seem to have a problem with him. But other than that, I suppose the military "sort" might have a problem with him, if they are white hard working white voters from the deep south or Appalachia.
I live in Oregon, I work at a grocery store as a clerk. I'm white, I work hard and I support Obama. So do most of the working class white people in my state.
That said, I am in my 26th year. My days are numbered, but my outrage at the treatment of the military never ceases. This is not the first, nor will it be the last time, many in our goverment are more concerned with retention, or cost, or if the latest weapon system (that doesn't quite work properly) has positive spin.
The GI BIll in Congress ine more item that this administration doesn't want to provide the young man and woman that sacrifice so much. It cuts in to the profits of KBR and other contractors making a buck on our tax dollars.
Living conditions of your soldiers. Substandard medical care. 15 month deployments.
The only thing Senator Obama can say, "Bring our soldiers home from Iraq!"
We have lost to many, gained nothing and there is no end in sight.
Here's the part I have a little problem with: Military service--who serves and who doesn't -- is a good shorthand summation of the class divide in America today. And the people who serve are the sorts of people your Obama For President campaign seems to be having trouble connecting with sometimes.
Yes who serves and who doesn't does fall along the class divide, so it is no surprise that african Americans are represented in the Armed Forces out of proportion to their numbers in our population. So, to say that Obama has trouble reaching the people who serve is a grossly inaccurate statement.
Yes, financially struggled whites tend not to vote for the same candidate as financially struggling blacks. But to ignore the fact that blacks make up a good portion of the "working class" or the "hard working class" or the "people who serve" is a big oversight.
Obama's opponents will continue to make that distinction and plant the notion in the head of working class white people that he is their enemy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
As an Obama fan whose blogs offered him great support throughout this campaign (loved your Wright-related postings), you should be careful not to fall for that false distinction.
And I did this not because I was trying to stop one man, but exactly because I was trying to stop exactly what has since transpired. Because what I was trying to stop, and what has to be stopped for anything else to matter, is BUSHCO.
Except for the fact that BUSHCO was able to install Junior in the Presidency, he could, in many ways, properly be considered to be an irrevelancy. BUSHCO rests now because the snake it is has swallowed far more than it ever hoped for in only 8 years, and needs to digest before going back to the hunt.
Likely daddy will have handed over the reins before things get back up to full speed, but not to his figurehead son. There has been succession planning, but that part of BUSHCO has been screened too well for me to put those pieces together yet. However, there will be BUSHCO until BUSHCO is openly targeted and beaten and, until then, it is prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep the future you envision from being pursued. What you suggest is a good beginning but for every war that Obama can stop, the next BUSHCO President can start two or three. And their oil company subsidiaries can by up the new energy technologies.
Where have you been? We've missed your inspiring depth.
Thanks for the kind words, and know that they are reciprocated.
Now - would you consider writing about health care and the religious right voting against its own best interests? C'mon - surely they get sick, too!
I have hope that Obama will read your words, and be inspired. I know I was.