You know … in my zeal to stand up for the dignity and worth of the real victims of the Ft.Hood massacre I may have over reached. Apparently passion is not just a foil in young men. Old men can fall victim to it as well.
Please, however, make no mistake. Putting the death of actual people at a lessor place of worth while putting an abstract post-modern construct in the preeminent position can be morally and intellectually wrong. Yet we do it all the time. We fight for freedom. In doing so we often say the cost of our life is less than the overall loss of said freedom. We go further and say that freedom is our greatest strength. The good General simply placed the word “diversity” where “freedom” is often found.
So what is the essential difference?
The point of contention is in the worth of the abstract. Many of us have hearts that swell when the word “freedom” is spoken. What about the word “diversity”? Many of us throw-up a little when we hear that word. Like Pavlov’s dogs we react in a negatively for that word and positively for the other.
Therefore, your homework assignment is to adequately define “diversity” and decide for yourself what you think the General was attempting to communicate.
In the meantime you can go to Soldiers Angels (among other places) if you would like to support our fallen at Ft.Hood.
Godspeed
~Damon
Ahhhhh caffeine and junk food, the real fuel for soldiers on deployments.
You did not overstate or overstep. It needed to be said.
GEN Casey used the word “diversity,” which is apparently a dirty word in some people’s minds. I’m not sure why. Perhaps someone can explain it.
Diversity IS our freedom – we all have the right to be who we are. Citizenship, and military service, is not limited only to White Male Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Diversity means “not everyone is like you, but that’s okay.”
My Irish ancestors were abused and distrusted when they came here – but they survived, and America is stronger.
My Mormon ancestors were chased out of the upper midwest – but they survived, and America is stronger.
My African ancestors were brought here against their will – but they survived, and America is stronger.
If we let the ugly deeds of one twisted man create hate in our hearts for the other 3000+ Muslim soldiers, WE ARE LETTING THE TERRORISTS WIN.
MAJ Hasan is a horrible man, and was apparently a bad shrink. He killed his fellow soldiers, his fellow Americans, for no apparent reason. I hope he is put to death.
One of the wounds he inflicted was the pain in your heart. It’s easy to feel that pain as anger, and want a place to focus the anger. His religion might have been part of his personal malfunction, but that’s not the right direction to point the anger.
God Bless the Fallen. May the wounded recover.
I agree with Leland, though I suspect we both now have IRS audits in our future…
Diversity is great , I for one am Irish,Scots,Welsh and Native. But first of all I am an American.
When we are celebrating our diversity it is considered very much the cool thing these days, but when we try to elevate the ethnic, religious or political affiliation above being an American we are sunk. And being obsessively PC isn’t helping.
What casey was saying was either “I have to spout this Consideration For Others crap or I’ll be told to retire tomorrow” OR “More kool-aid please!”
No….I don’t think that you overstepped at all. We have gotten so wrapped around the ideas of multi-culturalism and diversity that we have forgotten our own core beliefs in this country. Freedom is the keystone of America…. But if another entity threatens our freedom by trying to impose their own intolerant belief system upon our own, then we must resist it with all of our heart and strength….diversity be damned. Major Hasan was a terrorist, just as much as any Al Qaeda or Taliban member out there. His kind of ‘diversity’ is something that humanity does not need at all.