In attacking Marine Week, Democratic Underground again displays its disconnect from reality
I wish I could be in Cleveland right now. I have to admit that it’s not the City of Cleveland itself that calls to me, although I’m sure it’s a very nice place. Instead, it’s the fact that the City is playing host to the 4th annual Marine Week. Previous years’ events were held in Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. The event’s purpose is to give those Americans who do not live near a Marine base the chance to meet this all-volunteer military organization:
The Marines found their Ohio recruits two centuries ago, and they might pick up a few more during their upcoming visit to Cleveland.
But that’s not the purpose of the event, according to Capt. Craig Thomas, Marine Week spokesman, who noted the Corps already meets or exceeds its recruiting goals.
“We want to create ownership, connections between the public and the Corps,” Thomas said. “It’s also our chance to get out in the community to say thank you for supporting us, and the military in general.”
Marine Week has been previously held in Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. Thomas said Cleveland was selected because “the whole idea is to pick a city without a [Marine] base or station, so people can meet their Marines.”
I think Marine Week is an excellent idea. We are blessed to have a Constitutional military, one that serves at the will of the people, not at the will of a dictatorship. To that end, it’s extremely important to remind Americans that the men and women who serve are their men and women, and not some ominous gun-toting strangers answering to an untouchable dictator. It’s the Constitution — which is the people’s document — that authorizes the military, rather than a monarchy, oligarchy or dictatorship. The military in turn answers to a Commander in Chief who is elected by the American people. This is a military of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Because we haven’t had a draft in almost forty years, however, the American military doesn’t touch that many American lives. In past wars, going all the way back to the Civil War, the nature of the draft meant that every American family knew someone who served. That isn’t the case anymore. If the military wishes to stay relevant to Americans, it must be part of their lives. This is especially true during war time, when the military is engaged in battles that seem excessively alien in nature to a public weaned at the PC teat.
Thankfully, Cleveland seems to be very enthusiastic about the whole thing. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has been running one supportive article after another. My own friend America’s Sergeant Major occupied pride of place in one of those articles. And from the running updates he’s posting at his blog, both the Marines and Cleveland’s citizens, young and old alike, are having a wonderful time as the Marines get to know Cleveland, and Cleveland gets to know the Marines.
Not everyone, though, is quite so excited about the chance to meet the Marines and their equipment. Over at the Democratic Underground, bastion of Leftist political extremism, one person took photos that the Marines had published showing shiny, happy people examining the equipment their tax dollars bought and decided to append his own narrative:
“Trust us, children . . . using one of these to blow the beJAYsus out of sovereign nations that never threatened one American citizen is a noble and just sacrifice your country’s willing to make for your educations and futures.”
[snip]
“You just shut the HELL up, you pansy-ass, troop-hatin’ liberals and demonstrators. Freedom isn’t Free and we got enemies EVERYwhere! WELL WORTH THE COST!!! Occupy a jawb or a shower or somefin . . . haw haw haw.”
What’s so fascinating about the DU tirade is how personal the animus is. This writer, who self-identifies as HughBeaumont, hates the Marines. He seems to be singularly unaware of the fact that these Marines are serving under, and showed up in Cleveland by the order of, the most Leftist president ever to grace the White House. Barack Hussein Obama is their Commander in Chief. They go where he sends them. And in the last three and a half years, President BO has sent them lots of places.
The last quotation, the one in which Beaumont purports to put words in a Marine’s mouth, is the most foolish thing of all. To begin with, have you ever seen Marines speak with a lack of civility to Americans? I know that, amongst themselves, they aren’t delicate flowers, but when they speak to the public, they speak with respect. Better than Beaumont, they understand that they are public servants. Even more importantly, the United States Marines pride themselves on honor and dignity, two attributes that, when they wear the uniform, are entirely inconsistent with the flow of effluvia Beaumont attributes to them.
Despite the bile spewing from him, Beaumont did get two things right. First, Freedom isn’t free, as know from the American blood spilled over the centuries to create an independent nation, to free the slaves, the protect the world from Nazi or Communist domination, or to stem the tide of murderous radical Islam. (Wouldn’t you love to see this DU weenie come face to face with some serious jihad-nik?)
Second, speaking of those serious jihad-niks, America does indeed have enemies wherever there are Muslims who have bought into such poisonous ideas as a world-wide ummah or a Caliphate in the White House, or who see America’s influence as dangerously antithetical to such Progressive Islamist notions as slavery, female subjugation, hanging homosexuals, routine child abuse in “educational” institutions, and Jewish genocide. The 2,996 Americans murdered in a few short hours on September 11, 2001 are vivid evidence of that reality.
Happy Marine Week, Cleveland! I wish I could be there with you.
