Veteran's Day ramblings
Wow. Has it really been 18 weeks since the last time I was on? That's crazy. I always mean to blog, but then get distracted by things like life and work, so I just never get around to it. But I find myself sitting at the kitchen table, with nothing much to do and a rant in my head, so here I am. I decided to NOT post this on my myspace or facebook profiles because I have a feeling I'd pick up a lot of slack for it, and I just don't feel like dealing with it right now. I'd rather get flack from strangers than friends. :) That might be the chicken shit way out, but oh well.
So today is Veteran's day, and all over the internet I'm bombarded by people's statuses thanking all those who serve for my freedom, because freedom isn't free, blah blah blah. Here's my beef with that - who is actually fighting for freedom HERE??? The last time I checked, our military was in Afganistan, Iraq, and various other foreign countries fighting for THEIR freedom. Not ours. Over here, I'm still a second class citizen. Here, my basic civil and equal rights are being put to a vote instead of being a given.
Everyone I know that is in the military or has been in the military are unable to fight for what they believe in while they are enlisted. We've all seen how that works out, considering they still don't want "my kind" serving with "normal people." They have to wait til they are out of the military to fight for their freedom and their rights. When it comes to freedoms and rights here at home, the military does practically nothing. Did our nations military free us from the oppression of the British 200 years ago? Yes, and thank god they did or we might have ended up like.... Canada! And just look at Canada! Free healthcare and higher education, gay marriage is legal, their crime rate is lower than ours, and generally they're in a better spot. So yay for not being under British oppression! Who needs all that freedom and equal rights stuff anyway??
I've never been patriotic. Except when it comes to other countries. And it's probably because we are so hypocritical in our politics and our politicians' dealings with the public. Here, enlisting in our military is optional. You have to make the decision to fight for a country that doesn't support you, but you don't fight for those rights, you go overseas and fight for someone else's rights. If you are a member of the LGBTQ community and are serving in the military, you are not allowed to BE LGBTQ. you can think it, as long as you say nothing, because god forbid it get out because you will be discharged. If you're lucky it will be an honourable discharge.
It's just so hard for me to thank those who have served and are serving because of the basic disregard the military has for its people at home. When they decide to do something about all the issues here, and I don't mean patrolling the borders so they can head off illegal immigrants, then maybe I'll be more inclined to say thank you.
So today is Veteran's day, and all over the internet I'm bombarded by people's statuses thanking all those who serve for my freedom, because freedom isn't free, blah blah blah. Here's my beef with that - who is actually fighting for freedom HERE??? The last time I checked, our military was in Afganistan, Iraq, and various other foreign countries fighting for THEIR freedom. Not ours. Over here, I'm still a second class citizen. Here, my basic civil and equal rights are being put to a vote instead of being a given.
Everyone I know that is in the military or has been in the military are unable to fight for what they believe in while they are enlisted. We've all seen how that works out, considering they still don't want "my kind" serving with "normal people." They have to wait til they are out of the military to fight for their freedom and their rights. When it comes to freedoms and rights here at home, the military does practically nothing. Did our nations military free us from the oppression of the British 200 years ago? Yes, and thank god they did or we might have ended up like.... Canada! And just look at Canada! Free healthcare and higher education, gay marriage is legal, their crime rate is lower than ours, and generally they're in a better spot. So yay for not being under British oppression! Who needs all that freedom and equal rights stuff anyway??
I've never been patriotic. Except when it comes to other countries. And it's probably because we are so hypocritical in our politics and our politicians' dealings with the public. Here, enlisting in our military is optional. You have to make the decision to fight for a country that doesn't support you, but you don't fight for those rights, you go overseas and fight for someone else's rights. If you are a member of the LGBTQ community and are serving in the military, you are not allowed to BE LGBTQ. you can think it, as long as you say nothing, because god forbid it get out because you will be discharged. If you're lucky it will be an honourable discharge.
It's just so hard for me to thank those who have served and are serving because of the basic disregard the military has for its people at home. When they decide to do something about all the issues here, and I don't mean patrolling the borders so they can head off illegal immigrants, then maybe I'll be more inclined to say thank you.