Supporting Our Troops

I love my country (even though I don't live there anymore). I love that we have businesses like Dunkin Doughnuts and Coldstone Creamery. I love that we defied the British bastard overlords and won a few hundred years ago. I love that fighting for freedom almost seems to be something in our blood, in our heritage. I even love the silly "promised land" motif that the pilgrims believed in. America is beautiful enough to be a promised land.

To build America we've had to fight and keep fighting, and for that we've needed soldiers--men and women who sacrificed their own life, liberty and pursuit of happiness so that others could have it.

I will admit right here and now, I am a sucker for people in the military--seeing soldiers fighting, working, drilling--commercials with soldiers make me tear up like nothing else. The idea of someone sacrificing themselves for others--it gets me deep down in my heart. I have a few friends in the military and they would send me videos of men reuniting with their kids and surprising them in school or whatever coming back from war--I would be sobbing like a baby.

Throughout my life I've written letters to soldiers, both friends and through charities, I've donated goods, sent goodies and necessities, I've let some friends cry on my shoulder when they've come home from the front, I've encouraged the wives of military men, prayed with them, listened to them... I love our troops. I support them.

Lately on facebook, I've noticed these patriotism browbeating schemes: pictures and videos of military men (it's usually men) seeing their kids, a photo of a military cemetery, an extraordinary story of heroism, but attached to it is a bullying message, a sarcastic taunt that "only those who care" will like the post, that if you don't like the post "you're unpatriotic", etc... some of them get really dicey and mean.

Firstly, I feel like it might dishonor our troops to assume that the main way they will be honored is how many "likes" they get on facebook. The idea is preposterous. They're soldiers protecting people all over the world, they are not celebrities that need popularity to survive. They don't need to be marketed or sold to us. Their vocation transcends popularity into pure basic need.

Secondly, the brow beating and bullying akin to the methods drug dealers use to push their product isn't really the method the military would want used to support them, is it? These men and women fight for our freedom of expression (check the Constitution), and yet, people on Team US Military are "daring" people to be brave enough to like their post. It's childish and immature.

Thirdly, while I understand that some people use their facebook profile as an extension of their personality, I would like to remind everyone that people have more to them than just the things they've "liked" on their profile. Don't be so quick to say people are callous to the emotional reunions of soldiers just because they don't like a page. Don't assume people are scared to show their love for their country because the US flag isn't their cover photo.

So before you "like" any more of those silly facebook posts, think about how often you really support our troops, fiscally, emotionally, personally, and whether you're willing to undermine what they're fighting for to gain them "popularity" on the web.