Convention of whores

I listened to a little of St. John McCain's speech at the Republican National Convention until my blood started boiling. After watching his and other speeches from Minnesota, I came to a conclusion. My dad is a better man than St. John. So is my brother.

The convention ramped up the party's recent tradition of canonizing soldiers... provided that they are or support Republicans. Democratic candidates have always been exempt from this canonization, even if they were wounded in service. Just ask John Kerry or Max Cleland.

I heard Mike Huckabee do this. I heard 9/11 Giuliani do this. I heard former mayor Palin do this. It was non-stop.

I get sick and tired of this crap. I get sick and tired of watching a bunch of ambitious, self-interested political whores having the audacity to lecture Americans on selfless service.

IT'S NOT SELFLESS IF YOU REGULARLY EXPLOIT SOMETHING FOR PERSONAL POLITICAL GAIN!

And that's why I'd never in a million years vote for St. John, even if he weren't the most militaristic major party candidate for president in decades.

My brother and father both served in the military. So did my late grandfather. My father and grandfather both chose to enlist during wartime. My brother tried to re-enlist during wartime.

One of the big differences between my family members and St. John is that my family members aren't constantly about their military service, nor did they ever get others to brag on their behalf. They are bringing it up all the time to show how much better and more patriotic they are than everyone else. They have more decency and honor than that.

The reason for this is that, whatever their various reasons for joining, they believe the point of any kind of service is to serve. A good deed is its own reward. My dad has run for public office twice and I don't recall him ever mentioning his veteran status. Maybe it might've helped him gain a few votes. But he was better than that.

St. John isn't. It doesn't bother me that he spoke of his military service and prisoner of war time. I'm sure it was a very important in shaping the person he became. But the amount of time that he and his minions in Minnesota spent shoving his 'selfless' service down our throats was repulsive. According to one analysis, St. John invoked his being a former prisoner of war in 43 sentences of his convention speech. He spoke of his quarter century-long record as a Washington politician in only 8 sentences.

That's whoring out your service for votes.

That's electoral pandering first, not country first.

That's not honor.

My family members occasionally tell stories about their time in the armed forces but it's always been in a reminiscent way and not in a superiority complex way. They never acted like they were better than me because they served in the military and I didn't. I remember my dad saying he envied me because I had the opportunity to serve in the Peace Corps.

Probably the most important difference, and this is what I loathe about the mentality that St. John panders to, is that my family has always valued ALL kinds of public service. They respected my service in the Peace Corps or my sister's service as a teacher and crisis counselor just as they respected my brother's service in the Marines. They respected my service in Big Brothers/Big Sisters just as they respected my brother's service in the Boy Scouts. My mom was a social worker. My dad taught church school. We've given back to our communities and country in many ways, none of which were trivialized.

And ultimately, this is what I resent most about this mentality. There are many ways to serve this country. That includes military service, but St. John and the militarism he represents prop up the idea being a soldier, sailor, airman or marine is the ONLY way to serve your country.

I know this is politically incorrect but soldiers do not have a monopoly on service nor on honor. It's very dangerous when we present soldiering as the only way to contribute to this country. It devalues other, equally crucial, kinds of service.

There are many other ways to make important contributions to this nation. Be a teacher. Be a volunteer firefighter or EMT. These people are the backbones of small towns across this country, both in self-sainted Middle America and the apparent fake Americas on the coasts.

Be a Big Brother or Sister. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Join a literacy program. If you belong to a church, they probably offer social service programs that you could help out with.

Laud those who serve.

Laud ALL those who serve. But don't leave the improvement of this country to other people. If it's so important, so noble, so worthy, be a part of it yourself.

And if you do so, have the decency and honor to not whore out your service to advance your political career. To do otherwise dishonors that very service.