
This was forwarded to me from one of my friends. I thought I would share it for those who havent seen it. It's quite nice. Makes you think about the people you know who are in the Service.Enjoy-
You stay up for 16 hours.
He stays up for days on end.

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.








7 comments:
this is very sad, yet also extremely biased. maybe that's your point, to portray your personal political views. if so, hurry for you, good job. if you're trying to provide an unbiased blog than you need to think of putting a poem from the opposing side.
this line bothers me the most: "you put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends." it concludes that anti war and don't support the troops are the same. i am against the war BECAUSE i support the troops.
also, "he still fights for your right to wear that shirt," i wasn't aware that iraq is that much of a threat to our country. if iraqis can't get their country back in order, how could they pull off another terrorist attack on the HIGHLY secure US.
this line bugs me too, "you criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything. he sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting." what about criticizing a government who IS torturing? i also don't understand how those two statements relate. it's just showing how violence doesn't solve things...
i could continue, but i don't feel like writing an essay on thanksgiving break...
just my two cents :)
oh yeah, i have a question. was this written by a soldier?
Ali I appreciate your "two cents" but it wasnt all relevant to the specific post purpose.
You said that it is sad but biased and you said it as if it was a bad thing. Everything people say is biased in one way or another. Your comment was biased. My response is biased. So of course this last post was biased. But I think you were confusing the purpose of the post. The purpose of the "poem" was to remind us of the hardships that soldiers go through in comparison to the good life in the USA. Regardless of your opinions of the war the soldiers are still going through the same thing. I also think you have misinterpreted several sections of the poem. You say that you support the troops which is why you are against the war. The context of "support" is that you are "supporting the soldiers while they are in war." I think that you are interpreting "support" as "care for" and support extends far beyond just care. You also mentioned how you didnt know that Iraq was such a threat to our country. Again, I believe you have jumped to conclusions because the post was not centered around the war in Iraq, but around soldiers in service. It extends beyond the realms of Iraq. You also said that if the Iraqi government cannot get their country back in order how could they "pull off another attack against on the HIGHLY secure US." This indicates by your own word that you believe Iraq was responsible for the previous terrorist attack which is essentially why they were considered a threat and why our troops are over there. So essentially you answered your own concerns in your comment. :)
alright, well i was going to write a huge response to this, but i decided it's not worth it. lol.
but i wrote a poem about one effect of the war.
it might create an interesting balance to this post.
care for me to send it?
Yea feel free to send it.
My email is bdbowman497@email.cfcc.edu
Thanks alot!
i agree that the soldiers go through hardships many times worse than the things we go through, but i still believe we are fighting a war that we have no business to be fighting. No matter how much effort our troops put into helping these people, it won't help; things won't change, they have to want them to change for that to happen.
I think this was a great post. So often we take for granted all that we have available, just at the flick of our fingers! Also it makes one think twice about the sacrifices the soldiers are putting on the line, to protect us. Regardless of weather or not you support the war in Iraq, you can't help but be proud of our boys out there, doing what they feel is necessary to keep America safe.
that literally made me cry. that was amazing.
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