I think I know.
There are lots of noncombatants in the current wars. Fair enough. They get a pass, for now, or at least until things heat up some more.
And then there are those who pretend to be already engaged. Those who imagine they are “standing” because of some good work they may have done before. Those who can’t stop shouting about what they did in 1983, 1991, 2001, 2003, 2010, 2023, and beyond.
Trouble is, that sort of engagement never ends. And those who pretend to “stand” on that basis, while diminishing other brave warriors, just get more ridiculous, as the odds get more difficult.
And the difficulty isn’t always military.
If a person will pretend to be engaged and if he wants the rest of us to believe that he’s all that interested in fixing the situation as it exists today, he might want to explain why he’s self-exiled himself from Western Civilization, and why one of his incessant gripes is that he’s not been able to meet with his Congressman or Senator–for years,
I can meet with my Congressman or Senator in a matter or days or weeks, any time I feel like it.
Because I live in his or her district in the USA, and because he or she visits my neighborhood on a regular basis.
I bet I could set up such a meeting for those who are experiencing difficulties, unless–oh wait–you’ve decided to live on the other side of the world. Unless your US Congressman or Senator lives in SE Asia–which I bet he or she doesn’t–sorry, my bet is off.
And then, let’s talk about the “VA.”
Good Lord. There you sit, complaining that the VA hasn’t agreed to an MRI on your body part’s behalf for years (I bet if you lived in the US, where the VA actually is, it would be easier.) Still, you claim to be living an idyllic life on the other side of the world, in a country with what’s generally regarded as fairly good healthcare, and in which you could get a full-body MRI scan that might cost in US dollars $750 to $1500.
Worth it to solve the problem? For less than what many of us in the US would be on the hook for, just as a co-pay on our own, expensive, private insurance?
Do the math. The gorgeous young women you–who in their terms think of you as nothing more than a rich elderly Western old man who pays for sex–versus what it might cost you for getting your health in order. LOL. Why not just do it for your knee, or your other pretend body part, and get it over with? And then continue with your pretend idyllic life?
Again, I think I know:
Because that would end the discussion.
Something you’re not willing to do, because they you’d have nothing left to say.
I can still find it in my heart to sympathize with your nonsense, from your childhood imaginings to your adolescent, and your middle-aged, false memories. My advice at this point though is that you should move back to the United States and re-establish relationships with your mother, your brothers, your wife and your children.
That you should become involved at the local level. Maybe even run for office if you feel so moved.
And that–at all costs–you should stop fighting a war you lost in 2009, when your beloved Marine Corps and its future Commandant ignored your advice. Stop trying to make General Neller and his descendants pay because they didn’t believe your “Winning The Peace” strategy was the bee-all and end-all.
Just stand for all that’s good, right now.
K?
God Bless.
