Inequality Of Sacrifice

Beyond that, the civilian leadership did not rally the country round the war;  it insisted on both guns and butter, a short-term, short-sighted formulation that created awful psychological dilemmas, among both those who served and those who did not.  Among them was the inequality of sacrifice.  It was a bankrupt policy, fundamentally immoral and essentially divisive.
—    Ward Just
From his book:  “Military Men“
[If you close your eyes, you can still picture President Bush standing in front of a sign saying “Mission Accomplished” or (shortly after 9-11) hearing him advise Americans to show the terrorists they can’t win by going out to the nearest mall and doing some shopping.
For the first time in American history the country went to war and refused to pay for it.  In fact, the Bush Administration carried the cost of the war (and other national security costs) “off books” so it would not be “considered” part of the national budget.  We have now been engaged in Afghanistan for over a decade and are only recently out of Iraq.  We have tens of thousands of unemployed and injured veterans, and, on television, we see private charities asking for funds to assist the injured vets and their families.
What we should be doing is raising the taxes on the “one-percent” to fully pay for the on-going war effort, the retraining of veterans who have chosen to return to civilian life, and for those injured vets and their families, full pay for their recovery and support.  No family should be out of pocket one-red-cent to be housed near a veteran recovering from a war-related injury.
But what do I know?  I’m just a liberal Democrat…
Actually, Mr. Ward’s book was written back in the early 1970’s and this quote is describing U.S. participation in the Vietnam War, not our recent conflicts in the middle-East and Asia.   —   kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	And Even Fewer Regrets
2021	Today Counts
	I Hope You’ll Understand
2020	Maybe #IncompetentDonald Really Is A Great Manager
2019	Your Only Choice
2018	A Good Definition
2017	Getting It Done
2016	Getting To Know Me
2015	Why I Pay Taxes
2014	Inequality Of Sacrifice
2013	I Never Saw A Moor
2012	Fill In The Blank
	Not For Naught
	Cliff Notes To Life?
2011	Conference Games Sunday

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