Aside from [some of] the discussions in this forum, it is rare to have the opportunity to sit down and talk to someone who may not necessarily be on the same side of the aisle you are and have a civil conversation. I had that chance this past Saturday night. Went to a friend's house for a birthday party and one of his sister's husbands was there. He is active duty Army. (Note: I will try to keep the details vague as to not get him in trouble. I don't honestly know how the military works when it comes to talking about some of this stuff, but he didn't reveal national secrets or anything. ) He has worked with an office that deals with Congressional funding and has spoken with Senators and Reps. Now he works in a homeland security role, but not what you would think. (Again not too many details...) After we chatted awhile I asked him if it would be OK to talk politics. I never like to jump right in because it can get ugly, especially now. He was hesitant because he said he can't say anything against the Commander in Chief. Needless to say this I was curious at this point. We had a very open and frank conversation about his experiences in the Army, during his time in combat. How he feels (and how others feel) about Rumsfeld (not flattering to say the least) and eventually the mistakes he feels were made in this war. He also said that many in the brass that he is available to speak with have the same reservations but are obviously unable to express these feelings openly. He talked about how he feels about leaving his family. How he feels about them cutting his health insurance and then being told "Don't worry, you can have Medicare." He said "That's for indigent people. I WORK, I earned my benefits." He was especially upset about this as an example of our they felt disrespected by this administration and some of the cuts they have made in veterans funding. How they have not been equipped properly to win this war. He also said "This is not like the first one. It's not we came in counted to 100 and it was over. Instead of running, this time the bad guys just blended in to the population, picking us off one by one. It's not good. " We talked about young soldiers and how they are trained for combat and the amp they feel before they go. He compared it to practicing hard for football, all day, 7 days a week and never getting to play. It is frustrating for them and explains some of the reactions you see in a new soldier in combat. He said AFTER combat it's much different. "You never hear old soldiers saying 'I want to go back to combat'." I asked if it was the same feeling that someone who is adept at a martial art feels; knowing how to fight and never wanting to have to use their skills again. He agreed. I tried to talk only when necessary to keep the conversation going, often only to ask another question. It was a very solemn talk. Despite the things he said and the issues we talked about (including abortion, stem cell research, the draft, IRR. etc. , I never exactly pinned down which way he would vote. Truthfully, I don't want or need to know. We were just to guys from different backgrounds having an open and frank conversation about serious issues. P.S. Please don't use this thread as a sounding board for your opinions on issues or the candidates, there is plenty of other places on the board to do that. If you want to comment on our conversation or similar ones you have had, great, but keep the poo out of this thread. Thanks.
