A song about a fellow scorned  by a girl who takes on an attitude and is determined to "show her."

You can hear the sarcasm and vengefulness  fairly dripping from the words. This is a guy who seems to have been hurt or ridiculed and now he's going to become soooo cool that she will be jealous and cry while HE is  going to be acceptable and "top of the world ma" (James Cagney)

Recently I saw a news survey asking which war is most important: Vietnam or the War on Terrorism. My first  reaction would be to say: the war on terrorism. Certainly it's more current and immediate. Certainly, if lost, the repercussions will effect the entire planet, but this is only a partial answer.

First of all, anyone who participated in any war feels some "ownership" of that conflict and has a vested interest in it, knows more about it than other conflicts, and has a more intimate knowledge of it than other wars. That's a given. So having said that I have to also say, I am a veteran of the Vietnam War and I am wise enough to know then that my opinion is colored by having undergone that experience.

So let's start with asking: What was important about the Vietnam war? According to our president we were there to stifle communism in southeast Asia and prevent the dreaded "domino effect" wherein one country goes communist, then it's neighbor, and another and another and so on. There were also treaties and agreements both above and below the table defining our required or expected reaction if certain conditions exist with our treaty allies. Treaties and alliances have been around since tribal days and allow for groups to align themselves together to defend against a common enemy; an agreement made between social peoples who see benefit in banding together to have more strength and deterrent value. These are decisions and actions that are made at a holistic level and while individuals make up the larger group, their personal feelings and acts are secondary to the larger agreement and act itself.

Not all individuals will agree that the alliance is a good one or meaningful to the individual, but all members of a society are included in this blanket political position and statement and therefore all members may be called on to defend this position in spite of their personal position or feelings.

In the case of Vietnam they did not invade us or attack us directly but attempted to overrun an ally we had treated with and we were compelled to respond out of a political commitment. So our response was based on a treaty not on defending ourselves from an attack already occurred.

In the case of the War on Terrorism, we were attacked directly: 911. Since that time we have sent our troops to Afghanistan to seek the men who did this. They search still.

So how did we wind up in Iraq?

Under reliable (as we understood it at the time) intelligence reports we reacted to what was perceived as a direct threat from a dictator who had weapons of mass destruction and a means to deliver them. This was not an invention of George Bush the second, the UN sanctions had been imposed under the administration of George the first and had been in place since that time. Because we were not allowed to finish it then the problem remained unresolved through the years. Clinton thought Sadam was a threat but failed to bring pressure to bear during his eight year tenure.

When intell indicated Sadam was once again building up his arsenal and missiles a cry of alarm went up from both parties' members Repub. and democrats both. John Ketchup himself stated Sadam needed stopping and we should commit troops to this effort. He sent a letter to the President to this effect signed by him and other current detractors such as Tom Dascle. Later he recanted this position because it displeased his supporters of the moment, that's our boy, always tell em what they want to hear. Funny how Kerry sees a threat then somehow later it's not?

So we have two different wars with different purposes and goals.

MY WAR'S BIGGER THAN YOUR WAR...

Is it?

To have played a part in either puts a man or woman serving into immediate danger, their investment is personal and therefore important to each who served.

However, having said that I have to place each into it's historical setting to examine the importance.

We are 30+ years past the end of the Vietnam War and politically speaking we are beyond the ability to change the outcome. Is there unfinished business from Vietnam? Yes, 1800 unaccounted for MIAs for starters.

Most Vietnam Vets would have been happy to never hear of Vietnam again unless it involved the return of our missing. It was Kerry that brought it out and highlighted it and opened this wound again; a choice he made, not a choice that was forced on him. Because of making this choice he placed this war into importance again, at a time that there was little we veterans could do about it except remember and regret. In my estimation a thinly veiled attempt to "be a real big deal" in the eyes of the public riding on his "heroic" yet dubious accomplishments apparently.

But consider this: whether he was a hero or a villain, what can we change about it now? Nothing, not a thing. Vietnam is a done deal and has been since we pulled out.

This new war IS current and IS timely and CAN be effected in real time with real and lasting effects which will impact us as a nation for a long time. No matter how painful or poignant our feelings are about Vietnam, it's past history and therefore not subject to change, only review and study.

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

Snappy little phrase, eh? True though. We sit in the present and move toward the future, we progress through time in a linear manner and are unable to go back and change or fix anything that happened then. We can only change the future and then with supreme effort and commitment. If we expended as much emotion and time on finding the terrorists as we are spending on kicking the candidates' service records back and forth, Osama's hide would already be nailed to the barn door.

So my vote goes to the current war as the most important because it's the only one we have any real chance to make a difference in.

We need to put aside each man's "war history" and concentrate on what they have done since. Look at the voting records, attendance to votes record and keep it in the "here and now."

There are no "big wheels" in spite of efforts to keep the focus there. If we vote based on the past efforts, screw-ups, and medals awarded to each we are overlooking 30 plus years of legislative history in favor of something that is long been beyond our reach and unchangeable.

So indeed "TODAY..is the first day of the rest of your life."

Someone should tell Kerry.

beansimple said it

and above all...

Think for yourself....