In the current political cycle we are hearing about healthcare, the war in Iraq, global warming and whether someone is Muslim or not, whether someone is shrill or not, whether the republican candidate is conservative enough or not. But we rarely hear anything about our troops.

I nearly fell to the floor when at the Oscars this year the producers decided to allow a group of soldiers overseas to announce the winner of one of the smaller categories. Wow!  Whether it was sincere or not on the part of Hollywood, it was long overdue.  Thank you for honoring our troops this way.  And giving them a little entertainment for one night.  What a joyous night it turned out to be. So what that I was unhappy with the winners of most categories. Enough with “No Country For Old Men.” It sure is a movie filled with violence and bad treatment of mankind. I was happy that Daniel Day Lewis won for Best Lead Actor, but I digress.

The point being, thankfully the Academy and producers of the world’s biggest entertainment awards show realized that the boost to soldiers morale in Iraq, Afghanistan and even here at home was really boosted by the this honor. These are the men and women who are the best, brightest, and bravest of our Nation. We would not exist today nor would we be considered the world’s only superpower if we didn’t have these wonderful young people fighting for our rights and our nation. They ask so little of us. They get in return, the bureaucrat mess called Walter Reid Medical Center and the closures of Veteran’s Hospitals across the nation. No one believes we should have socialism and handouts for Americans, but these brave young people don’t ask for that. Some need help and others just need a hand.

When Bill O’Reilly recently said, “There are no homeless people living under bridges here in the Nation,” I was shocked. Talking head and journalists seem to lose sight of what is in front of them. Sure there are people living under bridges and on city streets who are veterans. Many of which have mental disorders either from the wars they have fought or even before they went overseas to fight. That being said, our dismissal of the mentally ill in America has come back to haunt us many times over the past decades, with surely more dangers lurking ahead.

We had one president in the nation that had an absolute disrespect for our troops and another who uses them as propaganda instead of really respecting them and what they've accomplished.  Enough with politicians using our great Americans for their own purposes.  Let’s just teach our children and our youth how special these people are to our nation and to each of us individually. 

But the only presidential candidate that comes even close to mentioning our troops is Senator John McCain. I am neither endorsing him nor denouncing the other two Senators, Obama or Clinton. Maybe the fact that he is a veteran of a past war and a survivor of torture, but I won’t get into whether it’s right or wrong to end the war in Iraq. I have a strong opinion, but that’s not what this piece is about. What it’s about is, that we need to stop using “Support the Troops” as a slogan. We need to make it a way of life here in America. When you read history of the past, you realize that the soldiers were elevated in most great societies to be respected, admired, and honored. Maybe it’s being an American that makes us say, we don’t elevate any one person above another. That is a beautiful way of looking at things and people.

But our soldiers are now relegated to back pages of newspapers; they are also not the first or even the third lead story in any news broadcast. That is unless the media or the politicians want to elevate themselves in some manner by talking about them. We should be talking about them every day. We should have a President who makes the case to the nation on a weekly basis how we can support our troops. We should have politicians and journalists telling us to send a soldier a letter, a card or a care package. Sure we have Soldier’s Angels and the U.S.O. But we should stop expecting organizations to do what each American should be doing. Supporting our men and women who are in harm’s way so that we have a free and safe nation and that the western world is free. Our troops have liberated people in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but all we hear is, “Let’s end this war.” That is up for the American people, fine. You decide that come November. But until then, we should demand that our politicians and the nation’s media outlets show our brave Americans a little more respect and honor.

Thank you, to all the American and Coalition forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq for your service to our nation and your own. And thank you to all of your families. God Bless and thank you.

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