Kevin Tillman (Pat's brother) - "After Pat's Birthday"
DPrival78
Posts: 2,263
After Pat's Birthday
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/
It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we get out.
Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.
Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.
Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.
Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.
Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.
Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.
Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.
Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.
Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.
Somehow torture is tolerated.
Somehow lying is tolerated.
Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.
Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.
Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.
Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.
Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.
Somehow this is tolerated.
Somehow nobody is accountable for this.
In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.
Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/
It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we get out.
Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.
Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.
Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.
Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.
Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.
Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.
Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.
Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.
Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.
Somehow torture is tolerated.
Somehow lying is tolerated.
Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.
Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.
Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.
Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.
Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.
Somehow this is tolerated.
Somehow nobody is accountable for this.
In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.
Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman
i'm more a fan of popular bands.. like the bee-gees, pearl jam
Post edited by Kat on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
I'd love to hear what Pat would say about it all now. I have to admit, reading about him being all gung ho, while I'm very against this admin's military actions, made me sort of despise him, despite his accidental death. I saw him as a hard headed uber-macho stereotypical commando. But, then I remember how I was in the weeks following 9/11 and that's kind of how I felt. And probably every other red blooded male in this country. I admire his conviction and sticking by what he felt was right. And now, reading this from his brother, I kind of feel guilty.
I wonder what Pat would think now.
nowadays hits you when you're young
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
Was it ever?
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
wasn't WWS about his PA ??
I always hated cardinals #40 when he was playing
now, not so much
rest peace, pat tillman
during the administration of THE GREAT BILL CLINTON
Wow, we go from despise to admiration just based on politics? Seems like a person's death in a war that you are against should be treated equally despite politics. Why can't you respect and treat all person's equally? Seems incosistent to me and this is why the hard left is not trusted, everything is seen via the political view of a person.
If you don't believe like I do, then you are less than I am. That is what I am hearing. And both of you stated your feelings as changing, which is even scarier since that is apparently the source of your thinking. You feel a certain way about an event then all decisions related to that event are made based on that feeling.
I know that I don't operate like this, and my feelings for Pat Tillman haven't changed one bit despite the change of the perception of his political leanings. To me it is information to be sorted, but the event and all that led to it are the same. The pain is the same, the death is the same, the loss is the same.
His brother is right on though.
i rarely hate but i find it even harder to hate the dead
so not only did you make up the "kids" part, you also claim some kind of insight into his reasoning for serving in the US armed forces
when in doubt, just make shit up - always a noble tactic
So how about we judge you? You are just a weak minded scum bag. You judge others without even a shread of reasoning for doing so. You know nothing idiot.
And I'm sure I problably offend some people when I say that I don't care about how much Pat Tillman had in the bank when he decided to enlist; he is the same as every other guy and gal who risk their lives while weaing a uniform of the US armed services.
Frankly, I think it's an insult to those guys and gals whenever someone feels it necessary to bring light to the "sacrifice" PT made while fulfilling his "patriotic duty" as a result of leaving behind a life of fame and fortune. It's an insult because it implies that everyone else is there only because they have to be there -that they aren't filled the same sense of pride that is derived from doing whatever it is that they do.
I know PT didn't want that kind of attention anyway. He didn't want to be treated as special. He didn't want the Elvis treatment. So why has the american people and the media held him to such a pedestal? I have no idea. I guess they are that much in need of a hero, and that hero can only present himself in the form of a famous guy with lots of money and everything to lose.
Rangers are practically special forces. Any special forces reference book will have a section on the rangers in it. The army doesn't classify the Rangers as specifically special forces, but rangers are generally going to be wherever you find spec ops activity. They obviously undergo the rigorous kind of training that befits a professional athelete.
And I don't think I'm being delusional when I say that special forces guys like action. They sit around waiting for a war to go down so they can put those sharply-honed skills to use. In fact, I just don't see how people can put themselves through something as demanding and intensive as spec ops training without having an above-average desire to just get out there and kick some ass.
Yet, when anyone even remotely hints at the possibility that Pat Tillman could have been motivated by this same desire to seek and destroy as part of a revenge reflex after 9/11, that person is cast down and ostracized for his lack of whatever - patriotism? nationalism? sympathy for the rich and famous?
I think PT became the symbol of america's patriotism. And insuating that PT had motives other than a "duty to serve america" is like challenging the moral foundation of patriotism. And I think that's what gets under people's skin the most. They want to believe that because PT gave up fame and fortune, his motives must be as pure and morally justified as american patriotism itself. He washes the immoralities of any war from america's hands. I don't think the fight in Afghanistan is immoral. But, I think everyone has their own reasons for serving.
He was against Iraq. We know this, which means that must've had his sights on Afghanistan. At the time of his enlistment, there was no shortage of bodies to go fight in afghanistan. I've heard it from the horse's mouth that spec ops guys were practically fighting to be the first to go. Why is it so ignorant and closed minded to assume that he wanted revenge like everybody else?
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
to assume any kind of insight on a dead guy's mindset is somewhat of a reach IMO
Absent some kind of hard proof, it's still blind speculation at the end of the day.
On the other hand, if a person were to say that PT felt a deep sense of obligation to answer his country's call, there would be no debate. Blind speculation is OK as long as it makes people feel good.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
Yeah...that's why I gave up my multi-million dollar NFL contract too. I'm selfish.
old music: http://www.myspace.com/slowloader
I have to tell you, that YES, the US was once the most revered, most admired country, at least in Central America. Even as my own country was being destroyed with help of the US (and I didn't understand a lot of this when I was a child), the US was held as the epitomy of democracy, a success story that all countries should emulate, a partner that most countries wanted to have, the "parent" that help you out when you needed it, the most charitable, the most advance... shall I go on?
Now, I haven't lived there in almost 20 years, so I have no clue what the mood of the people really is. I do know, however, that my cousins who still live there would jump at the opportunity to come here to live and work.
Now, most of Central American countries are still 3rd world, so the opinion might be different in more industrialized nations. But I doubt that most other nations, or the people of those nations "hate" the US, as much as we think they do.