On Friday I was watching the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. It is the only television news program worth watching in my opinion. Typically on Friday’s they do a segment that features David Brooks and Mark Shields discussing the major political issues of the week. Both are smart men, although not surprisingly I find myself agreeing more with Shields than with Brooks, but they are both well spoken and intelligent people who engage in healthly dialogue rather than the screaming idiotacy that occurs on FOX.
Anyway, they were discussing the fallout of the Walter Reed Army Hospital fiasco and Mark Shields said something interesting. You can read the whole thing here, but this is the part that struck me.
“MARK SHIELDS: It is a leadership problem, Jim, but I’d also add that this is a war unlike any war we’ve ever been through. One-third of 1 percent of Americans, those in uniform and their families, are the only ones making any sacrifice, the only ones suffering.
The rest of us have been patriotically asked to take tax cuts, a series of tax cuts, to put a magnet, a “Support our Troops” magnet on the back of an SUV, and kind of saying, “Well, we’re supporting our troops.”
And the reality is, all of the sacrifice, all of the suffering is being borne by them”
And later:
“…if you accept the premise, David, that war demands equality of sacrifice, if you accept that, which is an American value up until this war, OK, and you go to any college campus — and I challenge you, next time you ask, “Who here’s for all-volunteer service?” All the hands go up. “Who’s going to volunteer?” No hands go up”.
I suppose I could make some larger point about the war, or Walter Reed but I’m not. I guess I just want people to think about the solider, regardless of your view of the war, think about the soldier, their families and what this is doing to them. It’s not much to ask.