Exceptional Comments II

Our own Peter (who made his debut talking about law enforcement a little while back) makes the second comment--forcefully, directly, but with a little bit of grace. I hope that this marks the return of Peter to our ranks--and hope that he has time to write for us again--and bow to his convincing argument.

Thanks again to both Peter and to Joe for writing some things that could never have come from my keyboard, for writing them here, and for helping make this site better.

And a very heartfelt thanks for their service.

Again, read the extended entry.

There are two conversations going on, ZB. There is the one, political discussion, all Americans are, heck everybody in the world is taking part in. In that conversation you and all Americans have a God-given right to participate.

There is another conversation going on, though, at the same time. This conversation is a little bit different. It is more or more or less the same as the conversation at the, say, national convention of brain surgeons. I would still have the God-given right to speak, I simply wouldn't have a whole lot to say. There are simply millions of examples of the latter conversations.

It is, perhaps, the wrong way to put it, except that we have some very well-known and powerful political figures, coughMcCaincough, telling us that not only should veterans not speak but that THEY WILL SPEAK FOR US.

In my imaginary brain surgeon convention there will be speakers, the program will list the degrees earned, the articles and books written, awards granted, stuff like that, not to proove the speaker's first Amendment right but to proove the that the speaker knows what (s)he is talking about.

The second conversation is not political, it's about the nature of one guy's wartime performance, not just shooting skills but the nature of honor, the relationship between the leaders and the led, the bond of trust that must exist, the love between brothers in arms, the questions of loyalty, the very nature of duty, the debt we owe to the fallen and the families of those fallen and a host of other issues.

There is a whole lot of that stuff being discussed. When we say we've 'earned' the right to speak what we are really doing is to list our qualifications just like the brain surgeons do.

In this particular conversation there are a lot of people talking who should be using another God-given right, the right to shut up. CoughLannyDaviscoughJamesCarvillecoughTomHarkincoughGeorgeWBushcough.

Ever say something during a bitter argument between two people you know and they both turn and say 'this is between us'? That's what's going on here. John Kerry slimed my good name for political gain. Worse he slimed the names of every single man who died in that war. He did so with lies, knowing that he was lying. He, more than any other single human being, is responsible for the cloud that hangs over every single name carved in that black granite in Washington, DC.

Some of those names belong to men I served with and bled with and, yes, cried with. Some of those names belong to men that have, off and on, visited my dreams for almost forty years. Two of those names belonged to men whose families I was privileged to do one of the hardest things I've ever done, visited and gone to their graves to pray with their families. I should have visited more, I'm not that strong, to my shame. Ever sat in a living room and have children staring the unspoken question of 'why are you here and not my Daddy?' Ever have a mother thank you for lying to her, telling her that her boy died instantly? He didn't. A piece of shrapnel hit a white phosphorus grenade on his webgear and he died screaming after Doc put every morphine ampule in the whole platoon in him. It didn't stop the pain until it stopped his heart. On his twelfth day incountry. He'd never fired his rifle except to zero it in on the base camp's range. He was eighteen.

That was one of John Kerry's murdering rapists.

You have the right to speak but this one is between us. I've got a little score to settle. I've made a little list, not very long, only 58,000, families on it. When The Hee-row has been to each of those families to beg their forgiveness for the lies that he told about their son, or father or brother, then it will be your turn.

Posted by zombyboy at August 27, 2004 05:44 PM