Supporting the Troops

Do you support the troops? How do you show your support? A. Whitney Brown shows his by writing an essay and creating a YouTube saying they're a bunch of idiots. Here's the video:

To be honest, I don't even know who the heck A. Whitney Brown is. His rants seem to be pedestrian preaching to the radical antiwar choir:

But do I still support the individual men and women who have given so much to serve their country?

No. I think they’re a bunch of idiots. I also think they’re morally retarded. Because they sign a contract that says they will kill whoever you tell me to kill. And that is morally retarded.

Friends, the most important moral decision a man makes in the course of a day is "Who am I going to kill today?"

That’s a decision you should agonize over, dream about, rehearse in your mind for hours, not just leave up to some hare-brained President you didn’t even vote for.

A man’s killing list is a very personal matter. It should be between him and those persistent voices in his head.

So to sum up, I don’t like our troops, I don’t like what they’re doing, I don’t like their fat, whining families, and yet, I support them. Thank God I live in a free country. Thank You.

Brown's entire rant was posted on Daily Kos (where else?). I don't visit that page all that often, and I've never commented there, as one has to be registered, and the thought of it makes my stomach turn a bit. Brown's "supporting the troops" post garnered over three hundred comments, which is no surprise. What is surprising (for a Kos post) is that early in the thread Brown's screed was reputiated by a traditional-thinking American:

It is one thing to disagree with the war in Iraq, there are very justifiable reasons for doing so. It is quite another thing to claim you're a patriot and degrade those who protect our freedoms.

Your post is disgusting and reprehensible. Criticize those who put our troops in harm's way all you want, but do not question the bravery and fortitude of those who put their live's on the line to ensure and protect your freedoms.

And if you choose to do so, do not call yourself a patriot.

I couldn't express my feelings any better. Brown's views are revolting, as is his condescending body language, which seems to imply that if the troops are dumb, those who truly support them are dumb as well.

I would imagine most people in the country know that military service is one of the purest forms of expressive patriotism. But that's just my opinion. Brown has a right to his views, of course, and they are free to compete in the marketplace of ideas. That I can support.

Hat tip to Thinking Right.