Did He Mean It?

Unless you've been living in a cave over the last week, you've heard John Kerry's remark about the US military, telling a group of California college students that if they didn't study and get good grades they would end up "stuck in Iraq". He attempted to recover (much too late) and tell the world that it was a "botched joke".

Nobody got it. It went over like the proverbial turd in the punchbowl. Not even the stone-faced audience of California students were laughing over this one.

The question of the hour has been, "Did he mean it?" The short answer is yes. I don't believe that he would have publicly insulted the most trusted institution in America had he known (and I can't believe he didn't) that it would create the maelstrom and media feeding frenzy that it has. It wasn't a calculated remark. It was an off-the-cuff remark that betrayed exactly what he thinks of the military and average Americans in general. The mask slipped and John Kerry showed his true colours to the world. Deep down inside, it's exactly what he meant.

Kerry's attitude is not uncommon among his cohorts, though most wouldn't be so vocal about it. The military is a fine institution, we support our troops, blah blah blah--as long as my kid's not the one going to the sandbox. It's fine for some bubba from one of those box-shaped states way out west. It's not like they're going to make it to the Ivy League or anything.

Kerry and his ilk see the military as a haven for the benighted and uneducated. America's unfortunate bastion of backwoods stupidity and ignorance. It's a contemptuous, elitist view.

And the military gave their answer. In a photo that has gone over cyberspace as fast as Kerry's remark, Minnesota National Guard members in Iraq are pictured holding a banner that states, "Halp us Jon Carry-We R Stuck Hear N Irak".

Air Force Public Affairs Officer, Capt J. Elaine Hunnicutt, told the press, "the soldiers' intent in taking this photo was meant as a humorous response to the current debate in the media and the command recognizes it as such."

In plain-talkin' English, "It's just a joke Sen. Kerry."

As military members, we're not allowed to show public contempt for elected officials. The military is officially non-partisan, as it should be. While many in the military lean toward traditionally conservative values, there are plenty of Democrats and others with more liberal points of view. There are varying views on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. One doesn't have to be a Republican to take umbrage at Kerry's comment. The Guard members' banner betrays most military members' (and average Americans') view on politicians like John Kerry as much as Kerry's scornful remarks reveal about his feelings toward us. The fact that the banner has command stamp of approval shows the widening disconnect between Kerry, Dean, Pelosi, et al. and the US military.

Liberals love to talk about how they support the troops and how they're the party that looks out for the "little man". I think the concept of "looking out for the little man" is patronizing. No man (or woman) is little when they have integrity, when they stand up for what's right, and when they're willing to travel to a foreign shore and sacrifice their lives for the sake of a stranger. John Kerry is a traitor who publicly slandered his fellow veterans with false accusations and he continues to make baleful comments about the troops serving in Iraq. John Kerry is a living illustration of "the little man".