Who Supports The Troops?

Those who know me, which is pretty much everyone that reads this blog, know that I have been a "troop" for the Army. I don't like to get into my own service on a forum like the internet because it would force me to quit saying a lot of what I think, and my service would then become fodder for discussion in a way that I don't think the internet is capable of handling with the proper respect.

I mention the pertinent facts just so I can say that I was reading a blog posting by a friend of mine detailing the myth of educational veteran support in areas that claim to be more patriotic than the rest of America. Specifically those places Sarah Palin referred to as "pro-America areas of this great nation." It was pretty well understood that Mrs. Palin was talking about the areas that are colored blue on election day. When I first joined the Army I remember getting into a political discussion with one of my fellow soldiers and saying "EVERYONE supports the troops." I have to admit, I was wrong, but so was he. My friend's blog pointed out how traditionally liberal areas actually have better benefits for their veterans than do areas thought to be more patriotic. Specifically he is from Alabama, and he found that his educational benefits there are behind states like Massachusetts and New York.



My brother, the head blogger on the Billy Blog, has been annoyed by my hatred of the narrative, but it really does hurt our public discourse. A good example of the narrative is the use of "supporting the troops" as a Republicans/Conservatives benefit only argument. The argument that this debt limit increase would harm deployed troops gained no traction on any network, but during the Bush Administration the President was successfully able to paint the Democrats as anti-troop on the networks, and got Democratic support for his budgets as a result. He even got a retiring Democratic Senator, Zell Miller, to mention the "Democrats' manic obsession with bringing down our Commander-In-Chief" as a key reason to vote Republican. It should be noted that when President Obama took office the same wars were still ongoing, but there was opposition to him by statistically the same group of people who bought into Senator Miller's reasoning.

This has created an environment where people who vote overwhelmingly Republican feel they already support the troops. Rather than pass legislation that would help veterans they think they've already done enough. Never mind that Democrats have had their share of military men and women run on their ticket. Democrats passed pay increases greater than their Republican counterparts wanted, a Democrat proposed the Post 9-11 GI Bill, and, as pointed out by the Cowbell Blogger, more Democratic states have better veterans' benefits. A story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch detailed how benefits the states of Missouri and Illinois extend to veterans made the old GI Bill better for many students than the Post 9-11 GI Bill. States like Alabama and Mississippi did not offer those kinds of real benefits to veterans.

Is this to say that everything Democrats do is great? Not by a long shot. Several Democrats have proposed cuts to defense, but the narrative makes the argument a lot more cut and dry than the facts do.

In closing I'd like to say, much like the Cowbell blogger did, that veterans are not looking for a handout. If you want to do something nice for a vet when you see him or her, that's great. Everything is always appreciated, but don't think that is all veterans need. A free beer and a spare ticket to a game can heal the soul, but I've noticed that most vets only really want a helping hand. Most commercials for joining the military focus on "job training" "money for college" or "leadership skills." I have yet to see one that focuses on "20 years and you get retirement benefits!" If our society truly values those who have sacrificed years of their life to fight in wars on our behalf, perhaps we should make good on the promises used to lure them into service.

As a sendoff, and something I think that is pretty apropos, here is Jon Stewart (liberal pinko) taking up a whole segment on the Daily Show just to say how amazed he was at the people he met on a USO tour. I know, I know, I just made a call for sweeping changes to your state's education system to benefit vets and now I'm highlighting a guy holding up things vets gave him, but this is one of those things that really takes away from his show, but means a hell of a lot to the troops he saw in Afghanistan. Also, it plays against the narrative, and who doesn't love that?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jon Visits Afghanistan
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