Saturday, May 26, 2007

Salute to Veterans Airshow: Rememberance of our fallen war dead or a recruitment tool

photo by Bill Monroe

I have been to the Salute to Veterans airshow off and on for the last 14 years and what I saw today was the most egregious show of disrespect to those who died for this country. Instead of having a tarmac full of old planes and stories by veteran pilots, it is now a show to recruit those into military service. All the military services were there. Their main demographic they were aiming at were children and young adults 13 or above. Not only did they have over sized mascots walking around, the Army had what was called the "Virtual Army Experience" This was a virtual reality game that one can go through and kill the "bad guys". In my opinion, this was very inappropriate. Memorial Day is a holiday to remember and mourn our war dead. When I was growing up, it meant going to the nearby military cemetery and paying your respects. Most of the time, we just went to the park and picnicked with family. But here at the Columbia Regional Airport it is about paying homage to our war machines. For those who would like the Wikipedia definition of Memorial day, just click on link.

Many military people were very friendly and insisted that they gave me the right to live free. Sorry folks, my constitutional rights are inherent, they are not given to me and especially not by the military. Comment and share your thoughts :)

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