Hearts and Minds

How often do you hear people say "Support the Troops!" with almost pious tones?

Have you ever wondered exactly what it is they do to show support?

I came across this post on Alt:

"Tomorrow (Dec. 1), I'll be at the MOA (Mall of America) to participate in the Largest Yellow Ribbon event at 2pm.
An 80ft. crane will take a picture of everyone in a ribbon formation and will send it to the troops overseas for support.
Hopefully it will be fun and the snow and ice won't keep people away. "

Sigh. Heart in the right place, mind in the wrong one.

At first...the silly, naive soft-headedness of this post made me angry. Much in the same way that seeing yellow ribbon bumper magnets on SUV's infuriates me (yeah, magnets, they don't even have the commitment for a sticker).

A photo of you by a ribbon? Really? And this will make the kid with the ulcers from worry...the exhausted kid...the scared kid....feel better...how? He went overseas to a war zone and he's going to feel better about his mission because you went to a mall?

Fucking stupid.

I got control of myself though...and didn't tear into this blogger. After all, their heart is in the right place. They just need direction and knowledge. And some common sense.

This is one reason I try to educate people. Folks obviously want to do something...they just don't know what to do. And all too goddamned often they wind up with platitudes and meaningless actions (fucking flag pins and magnets and nonsense like the above blog post)...and feel they've done something. People with the will, the desire and the means to show genuine support wind up wasting their time on some real silly shit. Then they feel like they've somehow accomplished something and the need and desire to help is alleviated. And a chance to really do something useful is lost.

I'd rather people send care packages of useful items. I want people to remain informed about veteran's issues so that when these kids come home they'll be well taken care of. I want people to take direct action if they honestly want to show support. Write to politicians, monitor military related legislation. Force the fucking suits to keep their promises to kids who take on a hard life to do things other people can not or will not.

Direct action.

Maybe I'll finish writing on this in another post. I can't decide whether I'm sad, angry, disgusted or frustrated right now.