Ok, I just need to vent
It's all behind the cut, so click the 'read more' if you dare!
For those of you who don't know, I'm staying with my folks in Illinois while my husband is deployed in Iraq. My parents are oxymoronic in their political beliefs. Staunch bible believing Christians who go to Church regularly (my Mom is headed to Greece on a missions trip tomorrow) who are basically pro-life and pro-military, they are at the same time liberal (my Dad verges on Socialist) Democrats with an unhealthy dose of BDS.
Makes for interesting times and usually I just keep my mouth shut. But their reaction to tonight's story on Bush going to Walter Reed was almost more than I could handle.
Bush talks about the problems and accepts the blame for his Administration's failing here. My Mom's reaction was that of course it's his Admin's fault, after all, "he ordered the closing".
AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
I had to just go back in my room and close the door. It's no good telling them that the committee that made the BRAC recommendations was bi-partisan, or that the Congress that voted on it did so in a bi-partisan manner. It's no good to say that the main reason that Walter Reed is closing is because it would cost MORE to repair and upgrade it than to add on to Bethesda. It's really no good to tell them that if their boy Billy had given A DAMN about the military and properly funded it during his terms that Walter Reed would not BE in this condition today.
No, no, it's sooooooo much easier to pretend that it was a perfect facility until 2000 and that it's ALL Bush's fault that things are this way.
So, are they going to work on their Democrat buddies in Congress to fund the changes at Walter Reed? Somehow I don't think so. Hell, we can't even get funding for the BRAC projects that those Dems voted on last year. Heh, at the moment, we can't even get funding FOR MY HUSBAND and the men who are IN Iraq without them putting in all kinds of strings and loading the bill with enough pork to feed a small country.
Okay, that's gotten it mostly out of my system. I still can't go back out there right now though. Crap like that makes me just furious, especially when it comes from people who I otherwise consider intelligent.
Oy. Thanks for listening.
(And be prepared, there's likely to be more posts like this over the next few months!) ;)
Tags- Military Liberals
posted by Kyrie Drake @ 11:10 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Wow, I'm seeing this the same night you posted--great timing. I hope you're getting some sleep. Wish I was there to vent in person; call me anytime!
It sounds like the thing that upsets you the most are the contradictions in your parents' beliefs, and the way that they made it seem as if it would do no good to present them with facts?
We've talked about Walter Reed. I think it's great that our President is accepting his share of the responsibility, and with funding situations as they are now, there really are a lot of situations where there aren't any good choices. I think that a lot of times when people think funding just globally oughtn't to be cut (or the converse, who think funding something is wrong), aren't seeing the problem of limited resources. Our President came into the end of a long chain of events, just as you describe, and I agree that it's unfair to blame him for the end result.
I was unclear about a lot of the specifics about the rest of the subjects you mentioned. If you put up articles, I'll find time to read them, okay? I really want to understand the situation, and what we all, as Christians (and as human beings) can do to make it better.
Thanks for the insight into your heart, too. Hang in there, okay?
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