Ingrates on the Nerves

Washington Post columnist ridicules the people who pick up the check.
By Lance Thompson - Contributing Editor
02/01/2007

Due to lag time between writing this article and posting on the internet, I’ll have to assume Washington Post columnist William M. Arkin is on his way out of town, covered with tar and feathers and suspended from a rail. So I’ll being by crediting him with the courage to publicly proclaim the true liberal position of contempt for members of the military, rather than hiding behind disingenuous claims to "support the troops" while denigrating their mission, their tactics, their performance and their motives.

In a 30 January column, Mr. Arkin commented on an NBC Nightly News report in which soldiers serving in Iraq voiced frustration at the criticism and the weakening support they hear from American citizens. Mr. Arkin’s response is that the troops should be thankful that Americans offer them any support at all. He opines that the troops should be grateful that we have "indulged" them "through every rape and murder." Mr Arkin intimates resentment at the wages, housing, and logistical support Americans provide, including the "obscene amenities" we ship to troops in combat zones. He refers to American troops as "young," "naive," and "confused." He disparages our troops as "mercenaries" and recommends that "America needs to ponder what it is we really owe those in uniform."

Mr. Arkin believes the troops should be thankful that American citizens still support them. He has this relationship reversed. American troops support American citizens. American troops defend our nation, our safety, our freedom. To protect us, they sacrifice time with their families, more financially rewarding jobs, their personal needs and goals, their sweat, their blood, their lives. Mr. Arkin believes these people should be thankful to us?

After accusing American troops of rape and murder, and resenting our "indulgence" of these unsubstantiated outrages, he begrudges the meager wages, family support and medical care provided to these selfless guardians. He does not specify which "obscene amenities" shipped to troops overseas offend him–bottled water, magazines, video games, i-pods? Or by amenities, does he refer to body armor to protect our soldiers from snipers, IED’s and suicide bombers? Does he consider hot food, soft drinks, or MRE’s amenities? Do sunscreen, insect repellant, chemical suits and antitoxins for venomous snakes count as amenities?

Our troops, according to Mr. Arkin, are "young," "naive," and "confused." Why else would they voluntarily leave the comforts, freedoms, and opportunities of the United States, travel halfway around the globe to the most inhospitable environments on earth to fight the most brutal enemy Americans have ever faced? How else could they decide that the safety of their country and fellow citizens is more important than the needs of themselves and their families? Who else would sacrifice themselves so their children and grandchildren can live in freedom, just as previous generations made those same hard choices for them?

If there are members of a profession who should be thankful for the forbearance, indulgence and generosity of the American people, they are the members of the carping, whining, critical press who have nothing but contempt for those who safeguard their lives. I would venture that Mr. Arkin’s financial compensation is greater than the vast majority of troops serving overseas, that the rules that govern his profession are infinitely more lax than those our troops must follow, and that his collection of "obscene amenities" far outweighs those rare indulgences available to combat troops.

I remember a conversation I had with a retired naval aviator at a service station one summer afternoon while we waited for an overworked mechanic to fix our flat tires. I asked about his military service, and during a moment of reflection, he observed, "There’s a price to be paid for everything we have and everything we do. There’s a price for us sitting here in the shade. Most people never met the ones who pay that price, but believe me, they pay it." Mr. Arkin wonders what we really owe those in uniform. "Everything" seems too inadequate a word.