An anonymous soldier writes:

In five days, it will have been six months since I joined the United States Army. I have yet to go to a combat zone, but with deployments the way they are, I'm sure that day is not far off. I graduate from my training soon, and our leadership estimates that by March, 75% of my graduating class will be in Iraq or Afghanistan.

So, you've signed up to be cannon-fodder for a war and occupation based on lies and that has already killed over half a million Iraqis, or over 1% of the country's population, and notice people who are in awe of your sacrifice. They are just as misinformed as you obviously are about the nobility of the cause. One would think that by now, even when the general patriotic fervour is taken into account, you have enough information to make moral choices. Putting yourself in physical danger does not absolve you of your responsibility as a human being to make those choices.

Ask any soldier what it is like to walk through an airport in uniform for the first time. People come up to you spontaneously and thank you for your service. Your meal gets paid for in the restaurant, and your beneficiary never comes forward. People come up to you and share their own military stories. A mother will whisper to her young child, "Look, sweetie! There's a soldier!"

So people who know no better fetishise your uniform. The proud soldier, on his way to pacify the unruly savage, defending freedom, democracy, and the American way of life. Excuse me while I throw up.

Bash the politicians, if you want. Most have no connection to the Armed Forces, it's true. Their children will never serve. But before you condemn everyone who has a yellow ribbon on their car or their lapel, keep in mind that some people do still make sacrifices. Some people wear the pins in honor of others they know who make that sacrifice. The man or woman you mock may have a sister, a brother, a friend, a child, or a parent serving proudly.

Pride? The US is in its fifth year of committing an utter, criminal folly, and the pride of loving parents makes it all fine? I'm fairly sure the terrorists who flew the planes into WTC were also proud of what they were doing, and with about the same level of justification.

As to the subject of the article, the first time I noticed American politicians sporting those pins, I was immediately reminded of the Soviet Union. All the communist party officials had a lapel pin of the red hammer-and-sickle flag. Little did I know that in the years to follow, the US would descend much further into resembling a single-truth police state that uses its armed forces to export its brutality.

This is just the greatest strip!!!

Here's one better: take a look at the "roundel" (painted on aircraft for identification purposes) of the Royal New Zealand Air Force:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rnzaf_roundel.svg

Seems they have a sense of humour.

Patrick writes: "In fairness, this trend is emblematic of the way too many products, not just airline tickets, are pitched these days, with everything presented as quick, quirky, snappy and hip -- even if it's not."

I so agree with this. For instance, my mobile telephone operator occasionally sends me text messages such as the following: "Gr8 news! Yr bal, bill & account services r back 2 normal after our system upgrades. Tks 4 yr patience. We look 4ward 2 bringing u new products & services soon."

I wonder, would it be possible to switch my language preference from teen-txt to English?

I'm looking forward to a turn in the zeitgeist away from the snappy, hip, and youth-worshipping to a new seriousness. Surely it's overdue. (Said he, hopefully.)

These are the things you will remember most clearly about life.

Sounds like an exciting first day on the job. I'm sort of glad a papercut is about the biggest danger in mine....

Just curious, has your new employer set conditions on your writing, such as you not being able to tell their identity or your home base?

Congratulations on getting back into flying, Patrick.

Someone woke up all grumpy this morning!

jebldmm: The answer to your question surely depends on how many systems the administrator in question administers!