This AP article is quite depressing. It made me seriously mad. It shows, once again, that the poor are the ones paying the bulk of the price for Bush’s War in Iraq and there is a 'backdoor draft'. Small towns are never ‘middle class’, they are very seldom self-sufficient.
“Across the nation, small towns are quietly bearing a disproportionate burden of war. Nearly half of the more than 3,100 U.S. military casualties in Iraq have come from towns like McKeesport, where fewer than 25,000 people live, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. One in five hailed from hometowns of less than 5,000.”
“The AP analysis found that nearly three quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average.”
Many of these soldiers believed in what they were doing. I do not question that. What I question is how the military offers opportunities for advancement and education as an enticement to these young men and women. When an individual lives in a dying steel town for instance, the opportunities for a decent life are far and few between. College is too expensive for even middle class families, and student loans will eat you alive after you graduate. Many of our best and brightest minds went into the war to pay off their student loans…ask tammara about that.
The AP article also brings up the financial burden of being a member of the National Guard or Reserves in the War in Iraq. Soldiers who were previously entrepreneurs are going bankrupt or losing their businesses. Families that were dependent on one spouse as sole income provider are experiencing a nightmare all their own.
The final blow is how the military delivers the bodies of military personnel killed in Iraq only to the nearest major airport. This is also a burden felt by the rural or small town inhabitants. It’s not only cruel, it is immoral to expect these grieving families to get the soldiers remains back to their hometown AND bear the cost of doing so. A bill has been introduced to cure this disgusting habit by a Democrat. Yes, I said a Democrat. Where are the Republican representatives on this issue? Will they fight this extra cost being added to the military budget?
Bastards better not. Our fallen soldiers and their families deserve better.
