a soldiers view on MJ coverage

[JonnyC]

 


 
 
This is written by a young soldier serving his third tour of duty in  Iraq.  Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson news interesting and he's right.


 


 

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson.  As we all know, Jackson died the other day.  He was an entertainer who performed for decades.  He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people.  I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief.  When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?

Am I missing something here?  ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades?  What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?  All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America.  Where is their moment of silence?  Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice?  Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddence," and "thank God for IEDs?"  When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE,

those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them.  But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice.  After all, we will never make millions of dollars.  We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too.  We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.  Remember these five words the next time you think of someone

who is serving in the military;

"So that others may live..."


 

Isaac


 

P.S.-"So that other's may live..." was also the creed of the Air Rescue & Recovery Service during Vietnam & is still today.

 

[blind ear]

To see how "weak minded" our country is just look what low grade fare is offered to entertain those that watch television. Media polls dictate what we view, that infers that the shows satisfy the majority of veiwers therefore the majority of the advertisers.
eddiegjr

[rockbilly]

Isn't it amazing how the mind of the average American citizen works, Michael Jackson dies and his name has been in the news for weeks, a funeral that rivals that of a President.  A true American hero dies and no one pays attention, boy are we in trouble.  I SALUTE DARREL "SHIFTY" POWERS!

 
Darrell "Shifty" Powers was buried on June 20, 2009

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.
 
Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and th! en reali zed he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.
 
No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.
 
No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.
 
Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.
 
Rest in peace, Shifty.

"A nation without heroes is nothing."
Roberto Clemente


 
 
 

[spacer]

MJ was an important figure in the Bread and Circuses scheme. Soldiers are merely fodder to be sacrificed in the name of
whatever the politicians and bureaucrats feel will further their agendas.
Of course, they can't just come out and admit that, but they're screaming it rather clearly with their actions.