‘Dear Mr. Obama’
By Jennifer J. Foster
Published: September 19, 2008
There’s a new viral video making the rounds on the Internet. Have a look so you know what the other 8.5 million people who’ve seen it are talking about, then let me know what you think.
My take: This is riveting. The young man’s message is powerful in its simplicity and directness; as it turns out, he knows a little something about sacrifice.
In my opinion, though, the video itself was weakened by the theatrics that were unnecessarily added in.
Not to take anything away from Lee Greenwood and his signature song, but imagine how much more powerful the video would be if it ended with this disabled veteran delivering that line—“Freedom is always worth the price”—and then turning and walking away in silence, leaving the viewer to consider what the speaker knows about his subject.
Wow.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( ) on September 21, 2008 at 8:41 am
The logic is totally faulty. But the message is very impelling. This is the type of campaign ad that moves voters to cast an emotional vote.
To be against the war is not to be against the warrior. To be ashamed of the havoc wreaked in Iraq, and the collateral civilian deaths, does not mean there is no pride in the freedom won for those who are now free to enjoy their lives there.
This young man paid a heavy price for his role in the war, and Mr. Obama would be proud of him, and cherish him and every other soldier, sailor, airman and marine who fought during this misconceived war too. But Obama can and should and must and did question why the war was started. Someone had to.
Why McCain is lauded for his support of the war is the one thing that escapes me completely. He knows how bad war is. _He_ is the one disrespecting warriors by not stating he has a plan to withdraw, and soon.
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Posted by ( ) on September 20, 2008 at 7:55 am
I take issue with this video because 1) it implies that Barack Obama is not patriotic; and 2) it implies that he does not support the troops in Iraq, both of which are not true in my opinion.
Despite assertions to the contrary, it is possible to be supportive of our men and women in uniform and have differing opinions on the mission they are on. My father served two years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He wasn’t drafted, he signed up for service. He believes we should not have gone into Iraq when we did because we rushed into it and the reasons we were given for going turned out to be false. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t support what our troops are now doing for the Iraqi people or that good things are being done in that country. It simply means that our government made a wrong decision in sending the over there to begin with. Does that make him any less patriotic or supportive of his country?
I don’t think so.
Should the day come when my own child decides to join the military and face the challenges and sacrifices that the young man in the video talks about, I will be fully supportive of this decision. However, if our government asks him or her to make the ultimate sacrifice in war, I would hope that they fully understand what they are asking and have solid grounds to support their decision. If they do not, I will take issue with that. This will NOT make me any less supportive of our troops or this country, because freedom is not political ideology wrapped in an American flag, it is the ability to make up your own mind and voice your own opinion without fear of being persecuted or labeled.
I respect John McCain as a man and I respect the sacrifices he made as a soldier. But that doesn’t mean that I, or anyone else, have to agree with him politically in order to be patriotic.
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