Andy Rooney can kiss my behind

[crowMAW]

Seems WND should post a link so folks can make up their own mind about Rooney's intent...but I guess that would take the spin out of it.

http://www.tmsfeatures.com/tmsfeatures/subcategory.jsp

April 9, 2004 article:

ANDY ROONEY

For release 04/09/2004

HEROES DON'T COME WHOLESALE

By Andy Rooney

Tribune Media Services


Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know.

It would be interesting to have a reporter ask a group of our soldiers in Iraq to answer five questions and see the results:

1. Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?

2. Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?

3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?

4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?

5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?

Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.

Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them. We pin medals on their chests to keep them going. We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours but there isn't much voluntary about what most of them have done. A relatively small number are professional soldiers. During the last few years, when millions of jobs disappeared, many young people, desperate for some income, enlisted in the Army. About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.

One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure. If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die. We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes.

America's intentions are honorable. I believe that and we must find a way of making the rest of the world believe it. We want to do the right thing. We care about the rest of the world. President Bush's intentions were honorable when he took us into Iraq. They were not well thought out but honorable.

President Bush's determination to make the evidence fit the action he took, which it does not, has made things look worse. We pay lip service to the virtues of openness and honesty, but for some reason we too often act as though there was a better way of handling a bad situation than by being absolutely open and honest.

© 2004 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

[StabbyTheIcePic]

Originally posted by Maverick
Stabby,

Exactly what is your experiance in this?

Your post sounds very much like a troller named froggy.

What is my experiance with this? It is an all volunteer army. You do not commit yourself to a job ,and then when it dose not suit your desires whine about it.

[Gnslngr]

Originally posted by StabbyTheIcePic
What is my experiance with this? It is an all volunteer army. You do not commit yourself to a job ,and then when it dose not suit your desires whine about it.

Yea and if people werent "patriots" if people werent "heros" they would never volunteer.  Simple as that.

I've served my country proudly for almost 9 years.  I dont ask to be called a hero but when I happen to be out in public in uniform and people stop me to shake my hand and say thank you....it still makes my eyes water a bit.

Military members are no different than fireman or police man.

You have you good and your bad but either way thay are puttin there life on the line for yours.  To top that the US military walk their posts not only to defend your life but to defend your freedom to criticsize them.  

to top that they do it for less money than a walmart greeter makes.

America gets its heros for cheap but like I allways told my troops you dont do it for the money, college bennys, travel......you do it because not because you want or because you have to...but because you FEEL that's what you need to do.

If people didnt volunteer for the military there'd be mandetory service just like in many other countrys.  When you make people go were they dont want to go you allways miss out on quality.

[StabbyTheIcePic]

Originally posted by Gnslngr
Yea and if people werent "patriots" if people werent "heros" they would never volunteer.  Simple as that.

I've served my country proudly for almost 9 years.  I dont ask to be called a hero but when I happen to be out in public in uniform and people stop me to shake my hand and say thank you....it still makes my eyes water a bit.

Military members are no different than fireman or police man.

You have you good and your bad but either way thay are puttin there life on the line for yours.  To top that the US military walk their posts not only to defend your life but to defend your freedom to criticsize them.  

to top that they do it for less money than a walmart greeter makes.

America gets its heros for cheap but like I allways told my troops you dont do it for the money, college bennys, travel......you do it because not because you want or because you have to...but because you FEEL that's what you need to do.

If people didnt volunteer for the military there'd be mandetory service just like in many other countrys.  When you make people go were they dont want to go you allways miss out on quality.

 I respect anyone who decides to join the military, but is the war in Iraq really defending our freedom? Afghanistan yes, Iraq maybe/maybe not. Of course you cannot blame the troops for this. They do not make the policys.

[Siaf__csf]

Andy Rooney seems to be the only one from above who can see things objectively. His words made perfect sense, and if you think otherwise you're fooling yourselves.

Sure there may be real heroes, too. A dead hero is worse than a father that returns to his children. Only dumb or suicidal ones seek to become heroes.

[AKIron]

He can kiss my behind too.  You know what they say about  prettythangholes and opinions.

[Gnslngr]

Originally posted by StabbyTheIcePic
I respect anyone who decides to join the military, but is the war in Iraq really defending our freedom? Afghanistan yes, Iraq maybe/maybe not. Of course you cannot blame the troops for this. They do not make the policys.

but you blatenly said that they are "volunteers"


truth is they are volunteers and do not get to pick and choose their fights.  They sign up and they go when ever the civilian leadership says to.  There's no choice in that.

Is it too hard to have heros in today's world.  I think yes.  People look at the spirit of the WWII generation as nieve....today we have "intelectuals".  They can sit comfortably in there homes while nameless people defend their freedoms.....keep their homes from burning down....give them emergancy medical treetment when needed....and arrest criminals/keep the peace.  

you must really HATE America if you can easily raise your nose to the air in discust and say "They volunteerd to serve a war-mongerer...they dont deserve my respect I'm SMART!"

I know I'm not mentioning everyone in society but here is andy rooney and you saying "the war in Iraq is unjustified....these military people dont deserve to be called heros because of it."


Heroism is about putting your life on the line.....its about sacrifice....its about service befor self.

[Shuckins]

I strongly suspect, after reading the article, that Rooney's real purpose was to take a few digs at the President.

Of a certainty, our troops are human beings.  In time of crisis, they will respond according to their individual gifts of courage and stamina.  It is fair to say that most are afraid.  

Nevertheless, most of them volunteered to serve their country knowing that the possibility existed that, someday, they might have to put their lives on the line.  

These young Americans have performed magnificently in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The press has recorded them treating the populations of these countries with compassion and respect.  They have brought down two of the world's most evil and repressive governments.  They ended thirty-five years of slaughter and genocide.

THAT makes them HEROES!  Using them as pawns in a political diatribe is despicable.

Mr. Rooney, you have provided confirmation of your own irrelevance.  It's time to retire.

Shuckins/Leggern

[Siaf__csf]

here is andy rooney and you saying "the war in Iraq is unjustified....these military people dont deserve to be called heros because of it."

Here is Andy Rooney saying don't believe everything the media tells you. Here he is saying your servicemen are ordinary people trying to survive just like the rest of us.

If that's too much to fathom, you're really deeply engulfed in propaganda and patriotic brainwash. Which would be extremely sad.

But as we've seen often before, many of you are easily lead on by the media and replace logical thinking with emotion.

[Maverick]

stabby,

You never answered my question, I take it then you have no experiance.

I fully understand the volunteer forces. I have 24 years of being a volunteer.

[Airhead]

Originally posted by Siaf__csf
Here is Andy Rooney saying don't believe everything the media tells you. Here he is saying your servicemen are ordinary people trying to survive just like the rest of us.

And he's wrong, too- almost to a man (or woman) our Soldiers have endured  everything from the disruption of their lives to the horrors of combat, and they've endured this while performing their duties in a highly professional manner, without complaint.

Every one of them are heroes in the truest sense of the word. And they're also soldiers, which means they do what they're told ...It's the politicians who're judged by history, not the soldiers.

Gunslngr said it best-
"Heroism is about putting your life on the line.....its about sacrifice....its about service before self."

That's what our people over there are doing- they're putting their butts on the line. They are damn sure MY heroes.

[FUNKED1]

<-Boycotting CBS

[Udie]

Originally posted by Airhead
And he's wrong, too- almost to a man (or woman) our Soldiers have endured  everything from the disruption of their lives to the horrors of combat, and they've endured this while performing their duties in a highly professional manner, without complaint.

Every one of them are heroes in the truest sense of the word. And they're also soldiers, which means they do what they're told ...It's the politicians who're judged by history, not the soldiers.

Gunslngr said it best-
"Heroism is about putting your life on the line.....its about sacrifice....its about service before self."

That's what our people over there are doing- they're putting their butts on the line. They are damn sure MY heroes.

 spot on man.  Every man and woman in our military is a hero as far as I'm concerned.

[Siaf__csf]

The world also looks completely pink if you wear pink glasses.

[SunTracker]

I think our military personell are patriots, and good citizens for serving.  I think the word hero is being used in place of patriot too much.