I Don't Understand

I truly don't understand America.

For at least four years now, despite him stating exactly why he took a knee, Colin Kaepernick has been painted as the greatest traitor to the Military since Benedict Arnold. Never mind that is was a former Green Beret, Nate Boyer, who spoke to him about racial injustice and suggested that Kaepernick take a knee during the National Anthem rather than sitting. Never mind the fact that Kaepernick himself stated that his peaceful protest was against the continued state sanctioned murder of unarmed POC and not against the flag or the men and women who serve in the military. Because the current occupant of the White House, in a continued bit of jingoism to his red state supporters, decided to turn Kaepernick's protest into an Us vs Them issue and call any player taking a knee a "son of a bitch."

But apparently, while the president was rallying the base about the patriotism of football players, he was also insulting the people he was whipping the base up about. According to a report published by the Atlantic's Jeffery Goldberg, President Trump referred to service members as "losers and Suckers" during a trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018. He also stated that "Nobody wants to see that,” referring to veterans who have lost limbs fighting America's wars. He has repeatedly derided the generals who have worked for him ("I know more about ISIS than the generals do,") and veterans like John McCain and George H.W. Bush. This isn't new for the president, who famously got out of the Vietnam draft by complaining about "bone spurs," but this is the first time is has been highlighted. And no one who claims to "support the troops" is saying anything. And its personal for me.

I first joined the Army Reserves as a fresh faced 18 year old two months after graduating High School in 1990. I've always wanted to be a soldier, ever since I was 7 years old. After getting out and trying to find a good paying job to pay my child support and get my family out of a crumbling home, I joined active duty in 2009. I like to brag that I've had a cup of coffee watching the sun rise on FOB Sharana, Afghanistan. Though I never saw combat, many of my Battle Buddies did, and they carry those scars to this day. In addition, I have lost several friends to suicide, which takes up to 22 soldiers, sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen a day. I haven't been immune to depression. and I freely admit to having thoughts of suicide. These are just a few of the problems service members face while protecting the freedoms all Americans enjoy. That our current commander-in-chief can see the history of our military and somehow equate our sacrifices as being "losers," and still even HAVE supporters, is the most damning indictment on our apathy ever.

Doc Rivers, coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, on the release of video of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man shot seven times in his back, said "It's amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back." I have the same felling about America and our military; we love this country. We give of our bodies, our time, our energy, and even our very lives, to the ideals espoused in the Constitution. Yet time and time again, especially with the current administration, we see that that love comes with using us as pawns, as living cudgels, to divide rather than unite. And if what the report says is true (and judging by his past statements, there's no reason to believe it isn't) the President of the United States sees us as "losers" without a single supporter challenging him. Even the rah-rah love that he professes is hollow.

So much for those yellow "support the troops" stickers.