The Military And The Liberal Agenda

To The Editor:

Just before the Labor Day Parade, members of the organizing committee approached several of the owners of the military vehicles lining up to drive in the parade. Their message was simple, “Your vehicle is not welcome.”

This confrontation escalated to the point where an officer from the Newtown Police Department was summoned. He had the common sense to tell the committee that he was not empowered to deal with the issue.

The parade began and the military vehicles managed to drive in it. The purpose of this letter is to tell members of the committee who initiated that idea that they should be ashamed of their action. The justification they gave was that the military trucks scared people. I saw and over the years have seen no evidence at prior Labor Day parades that would lead a reasonable individual to that conclusion. I suspect the basic force at work is a liberal bias that is antimilitary and anti-President Bush.

Why were these trucks more intimidating than the Revolutionary War reenactors who fired muzzle-loading rifles with clouds of gun smoke and a loud retort? The trucks in question are all basic equipment and troop transport vehicles. Not one was in reality used as a gun platform — even if they were, no operative weapons were displayed or discharged.

The liberal agenda regarding the military is simple. In a nutshell it regards the military as an institution that needs to be kept out of sight and accorded the minimum of respect. Heaven forbid that we would actually acknowledge that we have a military and that it should stand on an equal footing with other institutions in society.

That is the same attitude that allows people to support the troops but not the war. Let me tell you if someone says that then I know they have never heard a shot fired in anger. The troops do not have the luxury of such twisted logic. When you crouch in a foxhole or hear the rumble of artillery overhead the ability to separate your thinking into such distinct compartments is lost.

The morale of our troops on the front requires that we give our unqualified support the effort at hand. When troop morale slips, accidents rise and the death rate increases; that is common knowledge to all commanders.

Veterans that have come before us and some among us relied on the trucks that drove in the parade in prior wars. Those vehicles carried their supplies and evacuated the injured. To deny those vehicles the right to participate in a parade meant to celebrate and honor the result of the labor and prosperity of Americans in all walks of life just is pure bunk!

Having those vehicles in the parade was a simple way to remember veterans of prior wars and to show support to the troops in harm’s way today.

Service to the nation has run on both sides of our family for three generations. It is a tradition that we take deep pride in as do other men and women who have defended this nation against her enemies. It makes my blood boil to know that there are those who enjoy the fruits of freedom yet are so willing to allow a liberal bias to depreciate their service. I hope that next year’s parade organizers are willing to be more inclusive in their outlook of parade participants.

Yours truly,

R.P. Gottmeier

13 Antler Pine Road, Sandy Hook                    September 10, 2006