Above & Beyond

By NanceGregges


No soldier should have to die on the other side of the world because a bunch of traitorous neocons decided it was a good idea to send him there.

No soldier should be sent into combat under-equipped because the profits of war-profiteers are considered more important than his safety.

No soldier should return from battle in the field only to face a battle of red-tape in order to get his due after he has served.

No soldier should come home to the prospect of being homeless.

No soldier should have to beg on the street for quarters after fighting a war that cost billions.

No soldier should have to worry about how his family will survive financially, while they worry about whether he will survive at all.

No soldier should have to risk his life knowing his president will later refer to his ultimate sacrifice as just a number.

No soldier should be considered qualified to fight a war, if he can later be disqualified for access to the care he needs as a result of having done so.

No soldier should be told he is fighting for his countrymen’s rights and freedoms, if those rights and freedoms are being stripped away from himself and his fellow citizens as he fights.

No soldier should be told that he is free to fight, but not free to speak about what the fight is really all about.

No soldier should live in fear of being tortured knowing his own country has justified its use.

No soldier should be used as a political talking point, nor should his support be an empty slogan on a bumpersticker instead of the real thing.

No soldier should be used as background in a photo-op, especially by the people whose lies sent him into an unnecessary war in the first place.

No soldier should ever have to face death wondering if he is dying for his country, or for the corporate profits to be made after he is gone.

No soldier should ever have to wonder whether his fate is being determined by those reaching for a dream of future peace, or those hoping for the power and money that only the nightmare of endless war can ensure.

No soldier.

Anywhere.

At any time.

Ever.


Posted in full with author's permission.

Originally posted at democraticunderground.com: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/NanceGreggs/301