This letter to the editor was in a local Red Deer newpaper, had the person in question done a little research they would see that the money does go to support the soldiers, unlike what he/she seems to think... http://www.reddeerexpress.com/express/edition03/opinion-003.html
» LETTERS TO THE EDITOR «
Do more than wear red for our troops
05/30/07
I would like to write in response to the picture ‘Support From Home’, which was in the April 4 Express.
The caption under the picture said that emergency services across the nation will be wearing single red epaulette on the left shoulder of their uniform every Friday in support of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
This makes me wonder… what about the emergency personnel who don’t support the war or the presence of Canadian troops in Afghanistan?
Will they be forced to wear a red epaulette as a matter of policy? What if they don’t? Will they face disciplinary action? Be harassed by co workers? Told that they are disloyal and unpatriotic?
And, what does wearing a red epaulette or any kind of ‘Support Our Troops’ garb prove? It is merely a matter of outward decorum- it doesn’t do anything for anybody. It does not help any of our soldiers.
‘Support Our Troops’ pins, magnets, bumper stickers- they are just a way to state personal political opinion.
As an actual show of any kind of loyalty, care, or patriotism, it is purely pretentious, as it is devoid of any kind of action.
It’s the most apathetic type of support possible, equivalent to wearing a pin that says ‘I Help African Orphans’, without once in your life sending a cent to Africa or lifting a finger.
If you wear red on Friday or have a ‘Support Our Troops’ bumper sticker as an outward show of your political beliefs, fine, but don’t think that your bumper sticker is having the slightest effect on a soldier who’s just lost both hands, on a soldier who is mind-numbed from the horror of having seen someone cut in half by machine-gun fire, or on a soldier who is dead because he wasn’t provided with the proper body armour.
A quote by Jodi Williams, Nobel Laureate, states: “Tears without action are wasted sentiment.”
I would hold that a ‘Support Our Troops’ bumper sticker or anything in kind is an absolutely worthless measure of patriotism or support.
If you really care, do something.
Take action.
Find out what you can do, for injured soldiers, for traumatized soldiers, for soldiers with inadequate armour and weapons.
Become an advocate.
Don’t just wear a pin, don’t just send a get well card.
Do something with lasting effects. Become a positive force for change.
Otherwise, please don’t even bother wearing red or putting that bumper sticker on your car because it will only be a lie.
C. Fischer,
Red Deer
