Service
by: Chet Scoville
I guess if you're Mitt Romney, "service to your country" means, oh, whatever the hell you want it to mean:My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard....One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president.And they wonder why we call them chickenhawks. Damn.
And here's another thing that just pisses me off:
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, also saluted a uniformed soldier in the crowd.He had no right to do that. Neither does George Bush; neither did Reagan when he was president.
See, a salute is something that people in the military give to each other; it represents the bond not only of command but of mutual sacrifice. What it means is, "I will sacrifice my life for you and the mission if I have to." The president of the United States is, however, a civilian. While it is appropriate for him to receive the salutes of American military people, it is not appropriate for him to return them. And it is completely inappropriate for Romney, a state governor, who has never served in the military in his life, to salute a military person. It is, in fact, a lie.
I would never think of saluting a soldier; it would be presumptuous, disrespectful, and wrong for me to do so. It's also wrong for Romney to do so. And it's exactly the same kind of phony bullshit that makes believe that his sons' work on his campaign is just the same as going to Iraq to get shot at.
American political candidates have got to stop playing dressup solider. It's disgusting.
Let's give the last word to the woman whose question prompted Romney's response:
Romney noted that his middle son, 36-year-old Josh, was completing a recreational vehicle tour of all 99 Iowa counties on Wednesday and said, "I respect that and respect all those and the way they serve this great country."
The woman who asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill., identified herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good, as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq.
"Of course not," Griffiths said when asked if she was satisfied with Romney's answer. "He told me the way his son shows support for our military and our nation is to buy a Winnebago and ride across Iowa and help him get elected."
Cross-posted at The Vanity Press.




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I think that they all did have the "right" to do that. Just as anyone has the right to salute anyone else. If the person saluting is not in the military, there is no requirement to return it, as far as I understand it.
It [Romney saluting]is, in fact, a lie.
"A lie?" What is he lying about? As a civilian salute conveys no specific meaning, what is the specific lie?
You continue to say the civilians saluting is "wrong". Do you mean just for Leftists who do not care for the military or do you mean that there is a specific law or other custom that states that this practice is "wrong"?
American political candidates have got to stop playing dressup solider. It's disgusting.
That is why we have elections. If a majority of the population agrees with you then they will stop doing this to get elected. It's call a democracy.