Irrit8

I was told he admired me but it's the reverse...Pat's journey, that's the American dream and he sacrificed that. That to me is a real hero. My uncle once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." You, Pat, have lived those words.

First Lady of California, Maria Shriver, reading a letter from her husband Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and quoting her uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, in a tribute to Pat Tillman, the former NFL Cardinals starting safety who was killed in Afghanistan after walking away from a multi-million dollar contract to serve his country. Since he's the only person in the U.S. military to have put his life and career on hold, we're all expected to measure ourselves against such altruistic heroics, and feel lower than the abusive guards at Abu Ghraib for our lack of courage and patriotism. Hey Pat, we're sorry you chose to become canon fodder for Neocon Empire Building, but if your government really gave a fuck about you, they would have been supporting you with more troops and resources in Afghanistan, not distracted and confused in Iraq.

Posted by JasonW at 5/03/2004 07:12:00 PM