Current Commentary

A
Veterans Take
by
Guest Editor
Curtis Hendel

03/17/03

All We Are Saying, Part 2

As the support for our troops and our President began to falter, it was the celebrities of Hollywood that took the lead. For some reason they think that being multi-millionaires and entertainers that their opinion matters more than others. Unfortunately many people follow their lead. Worse yet is the fact that for all of their talking they are really the most removed from reality. Most of them are really just spoiled kids. Tie this in with the fact that their occupation is to play someone else, which is to professionally fool people.

Sean Penn recently traveled to Iraq to “see for himself”. Sorry Sean, I think you done got used. He returned talking about the schools and the innocent people that would be killed. Do you think he knows that Saddam slaughtered his own civilians in the first war to make it appear as though we did it? Yes he did, and he will do it again. He has small units in his elite military of fair skinned soldiers equipped with U.S. uniforms ready to play the bad guy for the camera and he has moved military equipment into residential areas and near mosques. And some will believe that it is us that are the bad guys.

We will use a higher percentage of precision-guided munitions to further remove civilians from danger. We can now do with one bomb what it took a whole squadron of B-17 bombers to do in WWII. We are also dispatching lawyers to the Middle East to sort through targets and rules of engagement. I don't think Sean did much research on this move.

Let's look at another famous celebrity mistake. Back in the Vietnam War protest days Jane Fonda thought it would be a great idea to support the communists. The famous photo of her sitting on the NVA anti-aircraft gun that was used to shoot down our aircraft is still a thorn in the side of many veterans of that war. Then she visited a POW camp and saw a line of men that were in very bad shape. She had the guts to ask them what it was like to be a baby killer. When the men returned to the states after the war and told of the atrocious treatment they had received she called them liars and cowards. For these actions she was applauded. She should have been tried for treason and aiding and abetting the enemy.

The stories of celebrities go on and on, trying desperately to be more than highly paid professional deceivers. Trying to be more than make believe. As of late though, the tide has begun to turn. Some actors are coming out in support of our troops and our President. Americans began signing Internet petitions to put pressure on those celebrities that take the protest to the level of pandering to the enemy. They say that they have the freedom of speech to protest the government but we do not have the freedom to protest them. This is their true hypocrisy showing through.

The tide also shows in the country music industry, where performers like Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, and Darryl Worley show outward support for our country and our military. Thank God there is some common sense out there.

The celebrities were not the only ones protesting.


End of this presentation — You may go to

Introduction & Table of Contents for A Vet's Take

or

Home - Contact Us - Cold War Hist. - 91st SRS Hist. - Stardust 40 Mission Story
RB-29 Crew Hist. - Hiking Rural Japan - Extended Stories - Short Stories
Biographical Notes - Current Commentary - Art Gallery - Fun Stuff - Education
Programs
- Locator- Reunions - Memorials - Cold War Museum Web Site