Thank A Troop

This is written by a young man serving his third tour of
> duty in Iraq .
> Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson
> news
> interesting.
> _......................... ..........................
> .......................... .........
> Okay, I need to rant.
>
> I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a
> report
> on Michael
> Jackson . As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He
> was an
> entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions,
> he
> spent
> millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a
> villian to many
> people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of
> people, and
> I respect those people who mourn his death, but that
> isn't the point
> of my rant.
>
> Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America
> loses their
> minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution
> to the
> country was to ENTERTAIN people, the Amercian people find
> the need to
> flock to a memorial in Hollywood , and even Congress sees
> the need to
> hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?
>
> Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and a ll of a
> sudden he's a
> freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few
> decades? What
> about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?
> All those
> Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in
> a war,
> still raised their hands and swore to defend the
> Constitution and the
> United States of America . Where is their moment of
> silence? Where
> are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and
> mourning over
> them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it
> when a
> Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good
> riddance," and "thank
> God for IEDs?" When did this country become so
> calloused to the
> sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily
> blow off
> their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning
> for a "Pop
> Icon?"
>
> I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence
> IN CONGRESS
> for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence
> for every
> service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan . They need
> to PUBLICLY
> recognize every life that has been lost so that the
> American people
> can live their callous little lives in the luxury and
> freedom that WE,
> those that are living and those that have gone on, have
> provided for
> them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because
> there have
> been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we
> will never
> make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or
> write hit
> songs that the world will listen t oo. We only shed our
> blood, sweat
> and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.
>
> Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.
> Remember these five words the next time you think of
> someone
> who is serving in the military;
>
> "So that others may live..."
>
> Isaac