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Some years ago (well, quite a few actually)... I sat in front of this girl in geometry class. I thought she was pretty... she was at least friendly to me. I didn't know she was "going with" one of the most dangerous guys in the school... and she never bothered telling me either. Some other guy (who had it in for me for some reason I'll never know) told this dude that I was trying to "steal" his girlfriend. He could've confronted me and asked if I knew she was going with him... or he could've asked her if she had told me. Neither would've made much difference because aside from helping each other with the Pythagorean Theorem... we we're not actually doing anything.
Instead... the guy just decided to jump me right in the middle of fourth period.
Now, from HIS perspective, he was defending his turf, and I was a sneaky, loathsome creep. From MY perspective, he was an irrational git who sucker punched me without any good reason. We both got punished... and I'm pretty sure neither of us ended up with said young lady. To top it all off... he and I later became pretty good buddies after we both joined the Armed Forces.
The point of this long story is that facts are more important than perceptions, and even people with very good intentions might react improperly without these facts.
If Trump said those things, word for word in the context they're being presented... he's an a-hole. For several reasons, I doubt he did. His comments about McCain have to be taken in the context of the McCain who spent the majority of his life in politics, and had a long-standing feud with Trump... not the younger version of himself who flew A-4s and spent time in a prison camp.
Trump's problem... as I see it, is that he didn't serve. Those of us who did know there's some things you don't say-ever. We can't openly admit that we "know" wars are fought mostly for thinly justifiable reasons by young people who haven't the life experience to realize they are far from the "invulnerable warriors" they've been led to believe they are. We can't openly suggest that a lot of people lose their lives in war because someone, somewhere made a gross miscalculation... or acted stupidly. We can't or won't say that a lot of what happens in wartime gets "spun" in the most favorable way after the smoke clears. Most of all, we honor... no, CHERISH the notion that even a nineteen year old personnel clerk who gets blown up while convoying down the road to get Green Beans one FOB over... is more worthy of respect than someone who graduated with honors from Harvard. We believe that because they showed up...and many don't.
We've had a lot of Presidents who don't "get that". Some of them did better in many respects than a few who did. Joe Biden certainly doesn't "get it". He did not serve. His son served... as an attorney; but didn't lose his life on the battlefield. Just because he knows (kinda) what NOT to say... doesn't mean his policies would be any better for the Military than Trump's. Just because Trump seems incapable of showing a little decorum when it's called for doesn't mean his defense policies are any worse than those of the last few men who proceeded him.
Going back to my high school story... I don't hate the guy who punched me, and I don't resent the girl who largely let me get punched.
I definitely question the guy who instigated the fight.
Instead... the guy just decided to jump me right in the middle of fourth period.
Now, from HIS perspective, he was defending his turf, and I was a sneaky, loathsome creep. From MY perspective, he was an irrational git who sucker punched me without any good reason. We both got punished... and I'm pretty sure neither of us ended up with said young lady. To top it all off... he and I later became pretty good buddies after we both joined the Armed Forces.
The point of this long story is that facts are more important than perceptions, and even people with very good intentions might react improperly without these facts.
If Trump said those things, word for word in the context they're being presented... he's an a-hole. For several reasons, I doubt he did. His comments about McCain have to be taken in the context of the McCain who spent the majority of his life in politics, and had a long-standing feud with Trump... not the younger version of himself who flew A-4s and spent time in a prison camp.
Trump's problem... as I see it, is that he didn't serve. Those of us who did know there's some things you don't say-ever. We can't openly admit that we "know" wars are fought mostly for thinly justifiable reasons by young people who haven't the life experience to realize they are far from the "invulnerable warriors" they've been led to believe they are. We can't openly suggest that a lot of people lose their lives in war because someone, somewhere made a gross miscalculation... or acted stupidly. We can't or won't say that a lot of what happens in wartime gets "spun" in the most favorable way after the smoke clears. Most of all, we honor... no, CHERISH the notion that even a nineteen year old personnel clerk who gets blown up while convoying down the road to get Green Beans one FOB over... is more worthy of respect than someone who graduated with honors from Harvard. We believe that because they showed up...and many don't.
We've had a lot of Presidents who don't "get that". Some of them did better in many respects than a few who did. Joe Biden certainly doesn't "get it". He did not serve. His son served... as an attorney; but didn't lose his life on the battlefield. Just because he knows (kinda) what NOT to say... doesn't mean his policies would be any better for the Military than Trump's. Just because Trump seems incapable of showing a little decorum when it's called for doesn't mean his defense policies are any worse than those of the last few men who proceeded him.
Going back to my high school story... I don't hate the guy who punched me, and I don't resent the girl who largely let me get punched.
I definitely question the guy who instigated the fight.
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Capt Gregory Prickett
LCDR Joshua Gillespie - No, but you'll defend someone that attacks members of the military who were captured and tortured, others who were wounded, and still others that gave the last full measure. By someone who bragged about getting out of Vietnam.
Defending Trump in this instance is not that much different from saying the words yourself.
Defending Trump in this instance is not that much different from saying the words yourself.
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LCDR Joshua Gillespie
Capt Gregory Prickett - You're an intelligent man; I would presume that means you understand the difference between "defending" a statement (or statements)... and questioning whether or not they were taken in context, or even said. If I truly believed Trump had said the things he's accused of, in the context it's being claimed he said them... I would be as upset as anyone else in the veteran community. Simply put, there would be no excuse for it. However, there are three reasons I find these claims difficult to believe: First-they seem too extreme, even for Trump. Second-they were said some time ago, and I find it hard to believe they are just now being brought to light. Finally, I can't "trust" the media entities who "confirm" these claims because they have repeatedly shown bias towards one side over the other. If it is proven Trump considers men who gave their lives selflessly for their country to be "losers" and "suckers"... he'd lose any tenuous respect I may have had for him. However, even that wouldn't convince me to vote Democrat in the next election. Too much of what those men fought and died to protect is at stake in my mind.
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Capt Gregory Prickett
LCDR Joshua Gillespie - It's part of a pattern. Deflect, deny, discount, deceive, divide, discredit, and destroy. You are claiming, against four independent entities, that they are lying or wrong and that Trump is right, even though we have example after example of Trump making similar remarks. Are you willing to state that the journalists at those four organizations are lying? Unequivocally?
Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you would participate in such activity. I stand by my statements.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you would participate in such activity. I stand by my statements.
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LCDR Joshua Gillespie
Capt Gregory Prickett - Your opinion does matter to me, and I'll admit that when I first read your reply... I took a moment of pause. Friend- this one's not easy for me; I've been asking myself for a couple weeks now if I'm the fool.
Here's why I don't think I am, and why I too stand on my statements.
Let's start by agreeing that we both concur the President has and does say things neither of us find palatable or appropriate. However, when one reads The Atlantic's article... what are the exact words they attributed to Trump? “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
If accurate, one interpretation of that statement is beyond the pale; an insult to some of the bravest fighting men in our history. Another, is that the "losers" Trump is allegedly referring to are not the dead who "fill" the graves... but the dignitaries, media, and other attendees at the event-most of whom arguably despise him. Even that would be an extremely callous, haughty, and arrogant statement... but it's more believable to me than the more incendiary (and potentially damning) interpretation being floated.
I think Trump hits below the belt. I think he has no respect for rank, position, or experience when it comes to fighting back against those he views as political enemies. I think he's just like many CEOs I've known who place people in only two rigid groups... those who are "with" them, and those who are not. I think he chafes at public servants who have lived off salaries and followed orders... when in his mind, he's created billions in wealth on his own terms.
Why would I "defend" someone like that? Because for me personally, it's not about Trump. His Presidency will be a memory in a few short years. To tie everything back to my original post on this subject... it's not him I worry about, but the people who seem to want him gone at almost any cost. I'm not naive enough to believe they all suddenly grew a conscience... their actions over decades have dis-proved that to me. I think it's because he's not "playing the game" by their rules. I think it's because we Americans are treated like especially well-cared for "pets" by the elites who broker power in D.C. and in our state legislatures. I think it's because someone like Donald Trump is just reckless and selfish enough to expose and upend all of that.
In closing, I don't expect you to change your mind on this one... I truly don't. If you're right, and I'm wrong... then I've been fooled by a "con man" as you say. However, between you and I... please accept that my unwillingness to see this incident in the light it's been portrayed has everything to do with my doubts, not my certainty.
Here's why I don't think I am, and why I too stand on my statements.
Let's start by agreeing that we both concur the President has and does say things neither of us find palatable or appropriate. However, when one reads The Atlantic's article... what are the exact words they attributed to Trump? “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
If accurate, one interpretation of that statement is beyond the pale; an insult to some of the bravest fighting men in our history. Another, is that the "losers" Trump is allegedly referring to are not the dead who "fill" the graves... but the dignitaries, media, and other attendees at the event-most of whom arguably despise him. Even that would be an extremely callous, haughty, and arrogant statement... but it's more believable to me than the more incendiary (and potentially damning) interpretation being floated.
I think Trump hits below the belt. I think he has no respect for rank, position, or experience when it comes to fighting back against those he views as political enemies. I think he's just like many CEOs I've known who place people in only two rigid groups... those who are "with" them, and those who are not. I think he chafes at public servants who have lived off salaries and followed orders... when in his mind, he's created billions in wealth on his own terms.
Why would I "defend" someone like that? Because for me personally, it's not about Trump. His Presidency will be a memory in a few short years. To tie everything back to my original post on this subject... it's not him I worry about, but the people who seem to want him gone at almost any cost. I'm not naive enough to believe they all suddenly grew a conscience... their actions over decades have dis-proved that to me. I think it's because he's not "playing the game" by their rules. I think it's because we Americans are treated like especially well-cared for "pets" by the elites who broker power in D.C. and in our state legislatures. I think it's because someone like Donald Trump is just reckless and selfish enough to expose and upend all of that.
In closing, I don't expect you to change your mind on this one... I truly don't. If you're right, and I'm wrong... then I've been fooled by a "con man" as you say. However, between you and I... please accept that my unwillingness to see this incident in the light it's been portrayed has everything to do with my doubts, not my certainty.
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