It’s only natural to think in terms of us v them. Right now, in the public discourse, it seems to be all about the wealthiest one percent and the rest of us – the 99 percent.
However, after covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the last ten years – including numerous trips to the war zones and to military communities here at home — I’ve learned there’s another one percent, who I call the real one percent. They are the men and women who fight our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (not to mention Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya) and their families. The rest of us are the 99 percent.
We lend our moral support to the one percent. We cheer the veterans when their names are announced at ball games. Maybe we even have ribbons of various colors on our car. We say the obligatory ‘thank you for your service,’ and I believe we mean it. But we don’t really understand what that service really means for these members of the military.
We don’t understand that the cost of war doesn’t end when the troops come home, but is instead often paid out over the years.
This is our real great divide in this country. It is in part the consequence of an all-volunteer military. It is also in part the consequence of fighting wars without involving the rest of us. We weren’t asked to sacrifice after 9/11 or pay for the wars that followed. Imagine the reaction if we had a war tax. Or if there had been a draft. Instead, we’ve got the few fighting for the many and they do it at great cost to themselves and their families.
WaPo:
The Occupy Wall Street movement slogan “We are the 99 percent” is ironic to many of those who are serving, or have served, in Afghanistan or Iraq. Our servicemen and women are not the 1 percent of Americans whom OWS condemns. Rather, this 1 percent goes ignored by the self-proclaimed 99 percent in Zuccotti Park, as well as by those looking down on the protesters from their offices at Goldman Sachs or Citibank. And it is not lost on those fighting in Afghanistan that it was bank accounts, not an interest in or concern for those patrolling Kandahar, that motivated the protesters to take to the streets in cities across America.
The 1 percent who volunteered to serve in the armed forces, and their families, are about the only Americans left who closely follow events in places such as Helmand and Kabul. Most thoughtful Americans could instantly tell you who is pushing for a “9-9-9” tax plan, but ask them to name the commanding general of more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and they would not have a clue. (The answer is Gen. John Allen.) Many well-meaning people who debate tax rates and mortgage foreclosures are unaware of a young Army Ranger sergeant named Kristoffer Domeij, who left behind a wife and two children when he was killed last month on his 14th deployment to combat.
The public apathy that has long characterized our involvement in this war is obviously, in large part, the result of an all-volunteer military force that has left the 99 percent blissfully unaware of the daily triumphs and tragedies that mark the lives of many of their fellow citizens a world away.
~~~ Back in 2005, not even halfway into our decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, my grandfather, a World War II veteran, sometimes used to scan the headlines of his newspaper, toss it aside in disgust, and complain loudly, “Don’t they know there’s a war on?” Sadly, the answer now is the same as it was then. Some Americans will, in fact, pause this Veterans Day to reflect on the sacrifices made by the United States’ latest generation of veterans. And that is a good thing. But, come Monday, as the opening bell ushers in a new day on Wall Street, U.S. soldiers heading out on patrol will once again be the furthest thing from many minds.
Happy Veterans Day to all those who currently serve and to those who have served, from one of the 99%ers: Thank you for your service. You men and women will always Occupy Honor and Respect.
This is a video I put together last year with permission from James Hooker, the songwriter. I think it’s still valid for 2011:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU49w-VQ34I[/youtube]
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.