Here’s a question that troubles me, ever more as 45 awkwardly ass smacks the drums of War as a creepy Game Show host that gets to pick the wrong door.
Who cares about the Troops more?
The person that supported sending our young men and women to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan, or the person that did not?
That’s a complex question about the series of thin red lines between Imperialism and Patriotism. But Afghanistan was called the Graveyard of Empires before we got there. Like thousands of years before we helped Al Queda crush the Soviets there, as anyone can see in Rambo 3.
Remember the inspiring Holy War speech, that is horrifying now?
I guess I can argue that some people that supported sending our young kids to fight bravely in those theaters can plead that they just believed their President (or rather Vice President).
But I think an awful lot of people that were opposed to us invading Iraq and Afghanistan really cared about the troops, and were concerned that we not only had no exit strategy. We actually had no other strategy other than then famous idea that if both nations have a McDonald’s franchise, they would not go to War.
But I can’t believe Dick Cheney or even a talking head and water boy like Sean Hannity really, truly supports the Troops.
But to their defense, I do think they support their sponsors.
I am listening to a mix of ‘When Night Falls’ that Dan Schmidt just laid down the bass on for The Staxx Brothers’ next album. The song reminds of long talks with his late father Richard Schmidt, a gem of a man, that was so passionate that these Wars were huge mistakes. Huge wastes of tax payer money and lives.
As he and Sandi K. Schmidt railed against the Neo Cons, voices from then and now U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and future U.S. Senator Al Franken filled the room like his back up singers.
Richard looked like a bad ass version of grown up Allen Ginsberg. He would have looked at me if I had a lit crack piping hanging from my mouth if I told him Donald Trump would be our 45th President.
‘When Night Falls’ is about the PTSD that is quietly haunting so many of our fellow citizens that served in those theaters of limited War.
We are still not sure why we went there, but Richard Schmidt’s accusations then are still pretty dead on.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many musical ventures and is one of the driving forces behind the Staxx Brothers. He is planning a tour of Nigeria for 2018.
