Supporting the Troops: Casual Cruelty

Reading in the forums, an Angel says that a special "Support the Troops" magnet was destroyed by vandals:

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:16 PM

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I went to Wal-Mart today and when I came back out to my truck someone had taken my camo support the troops magnet off my truck tore(or cut it)pieces and then left it on my windshield. Why would they do this? You can't fidn the camo magnets down here anymore. I'm just irritated. It wasn't hurting anyone and it didn't belong to them. Why were they touching my truck anyway?

This is from Mandy in Texas. It just goes to show that no state has the market cornered on idiots or supporting our troops. Mandy went on to say that she asked Wal-Mart to check their cameras and they said nothing showed (of course, the Wal-Mart manager there probably just didn't want to take the time to look over something so "minor". The magnet wasn't just any magnet:

I'm telling you I cried because a very special veteran who is no longer with us gave it to me.

This just happened today. This is what our society of spoiled people do who cannot conceive of sacrifice nor comprehend it will be given, even without their gratitude.

Another Angel told her story:

I feel your anger...Some people are so cruel. They don't have a clue as to what these things mean to us.

One afternoon I was rocking one of my grandsons, who was asleep, sitting by my front window. Two teenage girls were walking down the street, I had my car parked on the street. And I watched in horror as they did the same thing to my magnet and then high fived each other and walked on. It's a good thing I was holding Caleb or no telling what would have happened. My son was in Iraq at the time and I was already on edge....

I am almost in tears for you. It's only a little magnet, but your friend gave it to you. Prayers for you...Vickie

Someday, in the future, people will forget or pretend these casual cruelties occured. They will act as if these were all myths from a time of a divided nation. Just as many have tried to debunk the "myth" of the cruelty visited on our returning men and women from Vietnam. The assaults, the spitting, the cruel names, the calls to family members telling them their son or daughter is dead. All of these things occur too commonly and with cruel casualty.

In the future, people will pretend that they never did any such thing, that their opposition to the war was principled and reasonable.

So, I write this down for posterity. Remember it and remember that this is why, we who support the troops, continue our mission, no matter what people say or what congress does because our men and women continue their mission.

- May no soldier go unloved
Soldiers Angels