Sigh... here we go again

So, my dad? He's one for forwarding the ridiculous e-mails to me. He's a gung-ho, my-country-wrong-or-right (although our country is NEVER wrong) kind of guy.

A few years ago, he sent me a hateful email about Muslims, I replied, and he stopped talking to me for two years. We didn't start talking again until I contacted him.

It's been stilted since then, but we've rebuilt a wary relationship; I called him and sent a card on Father's day... you know.

Anyway, today, he sent this email to both my sister and me:

Fwd: Fw: Will you give this to my Ddy? PLEASE READ - I found this on Beergre...>Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:49:20 EDT

I thought this might be of interest.
Love ya both,
Pop

Will You Give this to My Daddy?
Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi."
The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.

The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-l ooking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a te ar rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.

We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the on every Friday a sea of red much like a> homecoming football game in the bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever; certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers.

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.


IF YOU AGREE -- PLEASE SEND THIS ON.


And here's my response:

Hi Dad,

I'm guessing your surgery went well.

I support our troops; always have. It's our government and the choices which were made that put our young men and women in harm's way every day that I don't support.

It's our government's lack of support for these men and women when they come home (see http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/AnxietyStress/tb/5239), and give them less than adequate care for their injuries.

I believe the majority of Americans do support our troops, just not this ridiculous war that continues to kill both our soldiers and innocent civilians in Iraq. I've heard that people say that if you don't support the war, you don't support the troops. I don't agree.

I love this country, and want it to be the best it can be. Right now it isn't. Just because we are the strongest, doesn't mean we get to do whatever we want. Well, unless we want to be a bully. That's how a bully gets his way. Not with respect and admiration, but with fear.

That's not who I am, or what this country is supposed to stand for.

Hope everything is going well for you out there in the land of heat.
Love,
Becky

I probably should have just deleted the whole thing, but man, it drives me nuts that he keeps sending me this shit.

How the hell do I share half my DNA with this man?