The Blame Game

The loss of a son is a terrible thing. All of us who are parents can sympathize with parents of young men killed in Iraq, or anywhere else. No parent is prepared to bury a child - it simply is contrary to the laws of nature. I say this to preclude the following comments from the mothers who have recently gone on television blaming the President for their loss.

My son chose a different vocation, but suppose he had chosen to be a fireman or a police officer. And let us say that in performing his duty in one of those capacities, he were to lose his life. I would be devastated. I would grieve. I would be wounded forever. Would I blame the President of the United States, the governor of the state, or the mayor of the town? You would say that would be absurd. We all need to blame someone or something to balm our wound. Who would you blame? Would you blame the law that said it is wrong to steal for the shoot-out at the bank where your son was killed. What about the fire? Who do you blame there - God. Was it the fault of the careless mother that left the eye on the stove on with grease in the skillet?

The policeman and the fireman take a job knowingly that comes with risk. Whether they take it for money, benefits, enjoyment, the fulfilment of serving one's fellowman, or a combination of those reason, they do it willingly and knowing the job comes with risk. Our military is a voluntary establishment. Gone is draft and compulsory service. Each man wearing a uniform has voluntary stepped up and taken an oath to protect and defend the United States of America. It isn't a selective oath that says I'll do this if I think the cause is just, or that I agree with my commanders. It is an absolute commitment to the mission and tasks assigned.

The loss to be felt for mothers and fathers of fallen servicemen is not to be diminished. The right to question the policies made by the government to put someone in harms way are not to be denied. But to blame the President of the United States and berate the country for which he died is not only wrong, it is an affront to all the parents who have born this loss with respect and held their son's death in honor and in patriotism.