Whether you voluntarily get behind the wheel of a car or enlist to fight in a war, there’s always a risk-to-reward ratio.
Cindy Sheehan, “The Mourning Mother,” is stressed over the 1,900 lost soldiers who volunteered for service in Iraq over the last three years. Why not protest the loss of some 42,600 lives lost on U.S highways last year alone?
Death is uncomfortable, but it happens. If you live your life trying to avoid death, it may just come sooner.
Anyone who gets into an automobile voluntarily runs the risk of dying, period. Do they weigh the risk-reward ratio before getting behind the wheel? Do they say: “If I drive to the next town, I may get there in two hours, but I could lose my life in the process”? Unlikely. Do they consider it would take days to make the same trip on foot more safely? More unlikely.
I doubt if many of us ever do such an in-depth analysis of the risk-reward ratio when driving, yet the risk does exist. Despite the fact that you could be killed in a fatal auto accident this year, I suppose subconsciously we believe the risk is worth the reward.
Likewise, when a person chooses to join the military – where the risk-reward ratio goes up dramatically – one can only hope they’ve first taken a moment to consider what’s at stake. Most voluntary enlistees understand they are potentially putting their lives in harm’s way – and, if they lose, they lose.
The risks of military service are offset by the rewards, such as: serving the country they love, getting a higher education, skill training, a regular paycheck, veteran benefits, discipline, camaraderie, and other personal rewards which military service offers.
Years ago, serving your nation was reward enough in itself, however that is not the case according to Cindy Sheehan, who has elevated “second guessing” to a new art form.
“Why did my son have to die?” Ms. Sheehan wants to ask President Bush. Simple answer: He didn’t have to die, he could have made the choice to become a doctor, lawyer, electrician, accountant, truck driver, carpenter or garbage man, but instead, Casey Sheehan chose to become a soldier.
Of course, being an accountant, lawyer or truck driver also has its risks. You may be one of the 42,600 who will meet their Maker on the roadways this year. In fact, choosing non-military work may have increased the chances.
For example, let’s say he chose to be a carpenter and on the way to work he was involved in a fatal collision. He made a choice to drive, thus taking a risk – and 42,600 other drivers made that same choice last year – and also come up on the losing end.
If instead he chose to become a lawyer and was driving to court, the result may have been the same. Remember, the lawyer or the carpenter might have arrived safely, but maybe not – there’s always a risk.
Likewise, for those who choose to join the military. They take certain risks when they go to boot camp or a war zone. Soldiers die every year in training exercises – that’s just part of the risk of being a soldier. Some die in war – that’s part of the risk of being a soldier – which is one reason Americans hold military service in the highest esteem.
Tragically, of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers sent to Iraq over the last three years, Casey Sheehan was one of the 1,900 U.S. soldiers who lost the risk-to-reward battle. But keep in mind that 99 percent of our soldiers have won that same risk-to-reward battle! A total of 126,000 people died on U.S. highways over the same three years. By comparison, U.S. casualties in the Iraqi War have been very minimal.
We hardly ever know when it’s our time to leave the planet beforehand.
We can attempt to extend our life by playing it safe, but the exercise is futile – when it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go. In the end, the only difference is what your life counted for. Did you fight and die for what you believed in? Not what your mom or dad or brother or sister believed in, but what you believed in?
In today’s all voluntary military, for the anti-war movement to suggest that anyone – including Bush & Co. – other than the enemies we’re fighting in Iraq is trying to “murder” U.S. soldiers is ludicrous on its face. Just like anyone who drives a car is responsible for the outcome. No one is forced to drive – or to join the Army.
I have to go right now to an appointment in downtown Phoenix, Ariz. I could have left a day or two ago on foot and made the trip safely, but instead I’ve chosen to drive and take the risk. I might die on the way, but that’s my choice and I accept the outcome. If I die, I don’t want my wife to blame the mayor, city planner, highway engineer … or the president.
Whether you’re for the war or against it is your choice. Americans can relate with a mourning mother, but to morph into an anti-war mouthpiece violates a basic freedom: CHOICE! One has to wonder: Is Casey Sheehan rolling over in his grave in disgust seeing his mother use his gravestone as a steppingstone for the anti-war movement?
They say people mask their pain with laughter. Maybe that explains Cindy Sheehan’s ear-to-ear smile as she was carried away from her anti-war protest to the awaiting police car. Could her obvious joy really be evidence of her deepest grief? God only knows.
Perhaps Cindy will one day write a book, “The Purpose-Driven Protester,” discussing how truly therapeutic anti-war protests can be to aid in the grieving process, but I doubt if any of the other 1,900 families grieving the loss of their fallen heroes will find it very helpful. Or, maybe one of the 126,000 families who lost a loved one on the highway in the last three years might find it helpful. Again I doubt it because most people know that life is uncertain at best.
