Thursday, September 6, 2007

SO mad

Today I got this e-mail from my friend Nikki:

Dear Friends,

As you all know, my brother Roger got out of the Marines almost 2 years ago and moved to Washington state to start college. He's really been loving it, doing well in classes, exploring the forests, camping and hiking and spent the summer working for the Fish & Wildlife service to restore salmon habitats.

This week as he started his 4th semester, Roger got notice from the Marines that at the end of the month, they're calling him back, and will be testing him to see if he is still fit to serve, after which he may have 5 months of training and be re-called into service for another 2 years.

Please keep him and my Mom in your thoughts.

Love and hugs,

Nicole


Roger and Nikki were two of the first people I met when I moved to Las Vegas. They are both amazing people, and I've often told people how much I admire them for never having a bad word to say about anyone. Roger is not your typical marine. He's a carefree, laid back guy with an infectious laugh. He's a whiz with mechanical-type junk. He's the kind of person who can take electronics completely apart and then put them back together again - which sometimes leads to speakers contained in shoeboxes.

Roger served his time in the military. He was obviously not happy to have any part of the war in Iraq, but he followed through with his duty. And now that he was back in school, he seemed so happy again. Like he had finally gotten his life back.

The seething anger I feel right now knowing that our government is taking advantage of such a sweet, generous guy - forcing him back into a deadly situation because they can't find any new people dumb enough to sign up to give their lives in a war that we're not even sure why we got in to or how we'll ever get out of - is just indescribable.

Roger shouldn't have to go back until Jenna and Barbara Bush are over in Iraq with AK-47s, instead of planning hoity-toity weddings to young republican cronies.

1 comment:

Mark A Hanna said...

I share your outrage! "We the People" need to take back control of our government (I do not underestimate the magnitude of such an effort) before neocon facists take absolute control--if they haven't already. I find myself more and more drawn to John Lennon's philosophy: All we are saying is give peace a chance.