Jessica Lynch

Okay, so I watched the Diane Sawyer interview of Jessica Lynch tonight. Did you really think I would not have an opinion to share with you all? Here’s my take on some things that came to mind while watching the interview.

You know what I find sad? Hearing people ask why Jessica Lynch is getting all of the attention and they are not. One thing that helps me cope with this nonsense though, is that it seems that these comments are coming from the relatives of the military members, and not the military members themselves.

Luckily, Jessica Lynch sounds like she is doing well while trying to deal with her injuries, and her popularity. She has the support of the Army, as well as a very loving community and family. If you saw the interview, I’m sure you don’t need me to rehash the heartwarming parts, and are anxious to read some of my more critical thoughts on the subject.

At one point, Diane leads Jessica into commenting on the fact that her rescue was filmed by the military. Jessica seemed to be of the opinion that her rescue should not have been filmed. My thought is, why not? A daring rescue, or what was thought to be a daring rescue, should be filmed. When a country is at war why not do a little PR work and film what was hopefully going to be a fantastic rescue?

We find out from Jessica, and upon hindsight, that the hospital was not really defended at all, and was basically just a hospital. Comments were made that the military went in using maximum force, and perhaps too much force was used.

When you’re at war, how much force is too much force? If I were a person asked to organize the rescue of a P.O.W., I would most certainly assume that this P.O.W. was heavily guarded because it was a fairly rare thing for the Iraqi’s to actually have a prisoner. How could you even think that resistance would be minimal? It’s easy to armchair quarterback this type of situation, but I think the military approached the rescue in the absolute correct manner.

If there were even minor resistance, and the rescue force was ill prepared and all killed, what sort of story would that have made? Better to be over prepared then taken by surprise. This isn’t football, it’s a war!

Let’s not forget about the Iraqi doctor’s and nurses who helped save Jessica, and cared for her while she was in their charge. I realize that many people have some harsh views on Iraq, and Muslims in general since 9-1-1, but I also realize that an entire society is not to be blamed for the sins of a few of its members.

Perhaps I’m an optimist, but I feel there is good in all people, and that an entire race should not be condemned for the actions of a few. Don’t get me wrong, we should be fighting with full force during this war on terrorists, but as we have learned throughout history, our beef is not with every single Muslim, but with those who use their religion to try and justify their actions. You bet your butt I’m taking an extra cautious look at any Muslim looking individual I see in this country, but I am not automatically condemning their entire race in the process. In this country, I still believe that you are innocent until given a reason to suspect otherwise.

One story I have been hearing is that Jessica Lynch is getting more disability pay then Shoshana Johnson. If they both had similar circumstances, why is Shoshana getting less then Jessica? I have read story after story adding fuel to Jesse Jackson and his typical idiotic, narrow-minded view of life as he thinks he sees things. The fact is, that it’s very obvious that Jesse Jackson, and the multitude of reporters who write things that they have no clue about, are all confused.

Disability percentages are based on the amount of injuries or medical issues you have, not by your skin color or how loud a family whines. There are many blacks, Hispanics and other races who receive disability pay equal to or greater then Jessica Lynch. There are also a large number of white folks that are receiving smaller disability percentages then Jessica.

Should everyone injured in Iraq receive 100% disability just because? Should they just toss out how disability percentages are figured out because Jesse Jackson has once again opened his mouth wide enough to drive a truck through, then shoved his foot into it all the way up to his ankle? As far as I can tell, it’s Shoshana’s family, and not Shoshana, who have brought this mess up. All I have to say to them and Jesse is… Whaaaaaa!

On a happier note, it’s nice to see the media go over to Iraq looking for the poor GI stories, and come back instead with stories of many soldiers that believe we should be over there, and that we are doing a good thing. There are many successes, and a lot of proof that we are on the right path.

There are still news stories of the terrible things we are doing over in Iraq. There are stories about the war that is being fought for oil, or the poor soldiers that have been injured during this conflict. Even with all of this negative reporting, I feel that the American people know the truth, and sometimes these claims just seem so silly I can’t believe that some people believe them.

A recent claim was that the war was created by our current administration for political reasons. Do people really think that anybody, much less our president, would do such a thing for just a political means to an end? Just because past presidents seemed to have wagged the dog for political gains, I have not seen, or heard, one shred of evidence to even come close to support these fairly tales.

I have one question for you on closing.

What did you and your family do to honor the veterans today?

If your answer was nothing, remember them in your prayers and at your table on Thanksgiving. You can honor them daily, or at any time. When you see a person in uniform, thank them for their service. Next veterans’ day, try a little harder to remember those who have fallen, and became injured, so that we can live as free as we do.

A special thank you to all who have served, and who are currently serving, this country.