John Kerry’s Hard Words
Posted on November 1st, 2006 in Uncategorized | 15 Comments »
Well, the senator from Massachusetts has done it now, hasn’t he?
Speaking in California on Monday, Kerry said this:
“”Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
So, naturally, a certain substance has hit the fan.
President Bush has, inevitably, jumped all over the comment, saying it was an insult to American troops and that Kerry owes them an apology.
Kerry has backed down in a kind of half-assed way, saying that the remark was in fact a commentary on Bush’s level of education and the fact that he has gotten stuck in Iraq.
One wishes two things about this episode. First, that Kerry had made his remarks either earlier in the election season, or after it. And second, that Kerry had made his point in a more serious and deliberative fashion.
Because, of course, he is right. There is a corollary between lack of education and military service. The prime example, of course, was Jessica Lynch, the West Virginia woman who was briefly taken hostage at the beginning of the war. In her own book, Lynch recounted how she joined the army because she wanted to see the world and it was her best economic option.
And that was at the beginning of the war, when recruiting soldiers was probably considerably easier than it is now. We got another picture of military recruitment in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, when Moore interviewed military recruiters trolling the parking lot of a mall in a poor part of Michigan.
We pay so much blanket homage to the troops in this countryâ”I support the troops,” “our men and women in uniform are the best this country has to offer,” and so on.
Yesterday I saw Bill Hummer on Fox, talking about the Kerry comments, say that this was “the best army this country’s ever had.”
Really? Better in what way? Better-trained? Maybe. More effective? Doubtful. Better in terms of bravery and dedication than, say, American troops in World War II? I don’t think so.
All our rhetoric about the troopsâwhich is a consequence of post-Vietnam trauma and a fear of Republican demagogueryâhas made it a crime to say certain obvious things. Not many people want to go fight in Iraq right now, and those who are going to Iraq probably aren’t going out of patriotism, but out of need. Why? Because this is a bad war, and no one wants to get killed fighting a war that is based on lies.
It’s not John Kerry who owes our troops an apology, but George Bush. Three thousand of them have died, and for what? Their blood is on his hands. Can he ever apologize enough?
15 Responses
11/1/2024 12:55 pm
All fine opinions so long as you’re able to live your life going to book parties and charity dinners in New York City and largely avoid exposure to military culture, let alone foreign combat (popular or not). But if you’re in the majority and you have some personal ties there, whether through a close family member (please don’t parade out that long lost cousin, Rich), living in close proximity to a base, or-heaven forbid-through actual service, you know that the typical dedication and courage of our service men and women is as high as it ever was, because that mentality does not ebb and flow like an op-ed page. Unfortunately, courage and dedication don’t help you when it comes to IEDs, by far the single greatest maimer and killer in Iraq.
And regarding the education of our soldiers, the enlisted rank of soldiers have always typically been those without any higher education. Those with degrees are typically trained to be officers. Enlisted ranks rarely make the leap to officer based on performance alone (perhaps an argument that education is over-stressed). How exactly could it be any other way? Especially when the fundamentals of enlisted service-hard work, loyalty, and respect for authority-are no longer qualities one is likely to obtain through higher education.
11/1/2024 1:07 pm
God, I hate it when someone assumes that just because you write something skeptical about the military, you disapprove of it, look down upon it, and have no connection to it.
So for the record…I’ve never enlisted in the military, no. My timing was off: I graduated college in 1986, and other than the war in Grenada, there was no particular appeal to military service at that point.
However, my father was in Korea, my grandfather was in the army, and my great-grandfather was in the Navy; he was on the Maine at the time of its destruction.
Regardless, it’s a false premise. You don’t have to have been in the military or know someone to respect soldiers’ courage and dedication—which I certainly do.
My point? That many people join the volunteer army not out of patriotism, but because they need the money and the opportunity the military can provide.
11/1/2024 1:26 pm
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, because those folks usually aren’t the same a year or two later. They’ve often gained self-confidence and pride in their contribution, making them far more responsible than their peers who struggle to attend a 10am lecture. Just because a few joined out of desperation is irrelevant and unavoidable. The military may be the only environment in which they are likely to realize previously unknown talents. Your opinions around the motivations of our volunteer army might be relevant if their performance was ever in question. But that performance is actually the only thing about the Iraq War that’s not in need of attention. You say you don’t look down on the military, but you do question their dedication. Unless you’re saying that a lack of dedication is what’s wrong with this conflict, I’m not sure why you’re talking about this at all. Kerry stepped on his tongue and he’s a buffoon, but it’s obvious he meant Bush when he said “you get stuck in Iraq” (all he needed to do is replace “you” with “we” and there would have been no problem) So why are you defending what Kerry himself didn’t even mean to say?
11/1/2024 1:47 pm
Our military are not what’s wrong with the nation, but we do have challenges with our political leadership. Neither Bush nor Kerry have demonstrated the capacity to lead this nation amidst the present challenges.
There are real problems with Congress. Look at the record of Bill Delahunt, the likely next chair of the foreign relations committee…
11/1/2024 2:20 pm
William Delahunt is the congressman for Massachusetts tenth district. In line to chair the foreign relations committee or the subcommittee on the western hemisphere.
His office has been very helpful to leaders such as Hugo Chavez, lobbying Universities in Massachusetts -including Harvard- to provide members of Chavez’s cabinet fora to present their policies and achievements.
In exchange, the government of Mr. Chavez has helped Representative Delahunt obtain discounted oil for his constituents.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5900
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2006/08/keeping_a_close.html
Senators Kennedy and Kerry have yet to distance themselves publicly from the foreign policy adventures of Mr. Delahunt regarding Cuba and Venezuela.
Go figure!
11/1/2024 4:32 pm
Anonymous 12/26:
You’re absolutely right, these folks aren’t the same a year or two later. Sometimes, they’re dead. Sometimes, they’re missing an arm or a leg.
The point is not to criticize the soldiers. Kerry didn’t say that, and I didn’t say that, although you seem to insist upon interpreting it thusly.
The point is to suggest that war affects the poor and uneducated more than it does the Bushes and Cheneys (and Bradleys, certainly) of the world.
11/1/2024 5:23 pm
Well, then I suppose it rests on your definition of the term “uneducated.” According to you, this is everyone who didn’t attend college. I don’t see it that way. In fact, the most valuable education I took away from university was the ability to engage with people from diverse backgrounds with diverse opinions and interests-nothing I learned in a course. I assume the military offers a similar experience on that front.
And despite the many other similarities, this is one area in which you cannot merely repeat the protests of the Vietnam War. There is no draft and accompanying college reprieve. In fact, it’s always been a myth that only the poor fought in Vietnam and it would seem the myth continues and is even more inaccurate now. A recent study showed that enlistment from the poorest neighborhoods has been steadily declining since 1999. And the average service man/woman is, in fact, more educated and wealthier than his/her average peer. Sorry to paraphrase-I’ll try to find a link.
11/1/2024 5:33 pm
I think we’re having a semantic argument about the meaning of the word “uneducated.” I certainly appreciate the educational value of diverse experiences and acquaintances, and I’ve no doubt that being in the military is profoundly educational. I’d also be willing to believe that people who join the military wind up doing better economically than their socioeconomic peers who didn’t; that makes perfect sense to me. (Learning how to work within an organization, discipline, hard work, etc.) You’re essentially arguing my point: That people join the military for economic reasons, and that therefore the military is frequently most appealing to people who really, really need money.
At the same time, I’d bet that people who don’t go to college and join the military make less money than people who graduate from college….
11/1/2024 6:48 pm
Richard, why even justify this absurd pseudo-event with a blog post? Kerry’s words are absolutely irrelevant to this election season, yet the Republican media juggernaut has somehow made it a national water-cooler conversation. Why, when the Pavlovs of Fox News ring the bell of scandal, does the rest of the mainstream media immediately salivate? (Ugh, sorry for that awful metaphor, but it’s true.) I know you mean well, and kudos for pointing out that GWB ought to be the one apologizing, but honestly, just bringing this topic up fans the flames. Why not link to get-out-the-vote volunteer groups so your Democratic readers can help win back Congress on Election Day?
11/1/2024 7:07 pm
This fight, or exchange, is unfair; poor Richard, going up against someone continually remaining Anonymous (if it’s even the same person), is handcuffed in what he can say or argue. Anonymous knows more about him than Richard does about him. It’s debating a phantom.
11/1/2024 8:47 pm
or debating himself…
11/1/2024 11:43 pm
Oh, you liberal ninnies. Geez. It’s me, it’s me all along. And this DOES amount to news, sure as Bush’s DUI was news just before the 2004 election. If you can’t take the heat, then stay home. Otherwise, we’ve been listening to Mark Foley clap trap for two months-and THAT really was meaningless outside Foley. Suffer the wrath, you bastards. Fourteen seats! No more.
11/2/2024 10:16 am
Look, the Kerry flap will backfire on the Republicans…..as odd as it sounds you can hear the drum beat already for Bush to apologize (which means he needs to come clean on his record) and that is really what the election is about. He won’t and the press on Sunday chat shows will beat it silly. Anyway, the Wed/Thurs polls before an election tell you where the sentiment is….so.
How many more news cycles until Tuesday…watch it change and read the other polls about which party should be in power-never in recent history has a party held such negatives as the Republicans…
Dems will take the house, senate is a junp ball.
11/2/2024 12:15 pm
Phantom here again. I disagree that it will backfire, but as much as I’d like to deny it, looks like the Dems will indeed take the House though I don’t think the Senate.
Sorry for the “bastards” comment, I was really joking.
As for the Senate, will they lynch Lieberman if the Dems fall just one seat short? Might then regret kicking him out of the club…
11/2/2024 8:20 pm
phantom:
let’s see sunday after russett and copmany have their way with the boys……..
lieberman lost the primary and decided to jump out but, an interesting perspective. again, his perch, should he prevail, will depend upon the make up of the senate post nov 7th. it will be very interesting to see how he dodges and weaves regardless of the majority.
besides, who really cares about lieberman when mccain is now drinking the right-wing kool aid…very scary-that’s the story.