Pat Tillman's brother speaks out on US government

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-- Pat Tillman's brother speaks out on US government

Posted by R!CH on Oct-23-2006 19:22:

Pat Tillman's brother speaks out on US government

quote:

After Pat's Birthday

Editor�s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.

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 got 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

source

how will faux news spin this one?

Posted by Magnetonium on Oct-23-2006 19:42:

I am waiting for neo-con supporters to post here to say how this guy is full of shit - because I completely agree with the guy. He has experience on his side. There isnt anything I can say to disagree, this guy deserves the message to be magnified a thousand times, because he has seen what the allegedly democratic force has done to Afghanistan, and Iraq is no different.

Posted by Shakka on Oct-23-2006 19:54:

Fuck, I'd be pissed if I lost my brother too. Especially to friendly fire. As far as the more incendiary things he is saying, he fought to defend his very own free speech rights, did he not?

Posted by R!CH on Oct-23-2006 20:06:

quote:
Originally posted by Shakka
Fuck, I'd be pissed if I lost my brother too. Especially to friendly fire. As far as the more incendiary things he is saying, he fought to defend his very own free speech rights, did he not?

he fought for something, but i think his point was that his fight and his family's sacrifice was not for any american's freedom. and that's the problem.

Posted by Magnetonium on Oct-23-2006 20:16:

Posted by Shakka on Oct-23-2006 20:21:

quote:
Originally posted by Magnetonium

You havent read the whole post, have you?

Not this particular article, no. I have read about 8 other articles about this today though.

Posted by Magnetonium on Oct-23-2006 20:30:

quote:
Originally posted by Shakka
Not this particular article, no. I have read about 8 other articles about this today though.

Oh, its no problem, not at all. Just explains your previous reply pretty well. Agh, never mind, forget it ;-) Dont bother reading the entire article, you won't like it anyway, its not what you believe in ;-) Save some time on watching a football game, thats more important, fun and more useful. Cheers!

Posted by R!CH on Oct-23-2006 20:37:

quote:
Originally posted by Shakka
Not this particular article, no. I have read about 8 other articles about this today though.

lol so you'd rather read 8 opinion pieces that try and summarize the article in someone else's words than to just read the full, unadulterated text directly from kevin tillman himself? news filter much?

Posted by Shakka on Oct-23-2006 20:56:

quote:
Originally posted by lex400sc
lol so you'd rather read 8 opinion pieces that try and summarize the article in someone else's words than to just read the full, unadulterated text directly from kevin tillman himself? news filter much?

Didn't say I hadn't read what his brother said. He's quoted in every single article I read. It was an off the cuff response. Sorry, I'll go back and re-read how much his brother thinks the Bush administration is pursuing bad policy and re-write my answer if you like.