Thomas Graham is a soldier from north Georgia who went to Baghdad to fight Iraqis and terrorism. On a hot July day last summer, during his second tour of duty, a bomb exploded on the road he was traveling, killing two of his fellow soldiers immediately. Graham, back home in the States, is now no longer an able-bodied soldier fighting terrorism. He is missing part of his body. Disabled and currently unemployed, Graham wakes up every morning with prosthetic limbs where his feet and legs used to be.On his flight back to the US, before his mother gave up her job to spend months with him at Walter Reed Hospital, Graham and his fellow soldiers were greeted with a surprise guest waiting for them on the tarmac. It was their president, their commander-in-chief, their leader, and as the plane landed, President Bush greeted his soldiers, shaking hands and making small talk with his troops returning home.
At one point, he even leaned down and kissed the shaved head of Thomas Graham. Graham, according to the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, got a laugh out of the kiss. “I thought that was pretty funny,” he said.
I believe this kiss is the kiss of Judas, a tragic betrayal and warped perversion that leads us to believe that it is this president who may bestow blessing and healing upon his soldiers. The day must come when the president and all the war-makers must stoop upon the ground, with the knees of their pin-striped suits dirty in the mud, and beg for forgiveness, blessing and healing, cursing themselves for ever thinking they had the authority to grant this upon others.
In other words, we need the soldiers to kiss us.
The kiss symbolizes a blessing of sorts, and in our patriarchal and hierarchical society, it is always those at the top of the ladder, living in the high-rises, working in white houses and pentagons, that do the kissing, that impart blessing. It is the same dynamic that creates and wages war, an anti-democratic system where the bugles are blown from Washington, yet the bodies are buried in poor country, USA.
Where are Thomas Graham’s feet and legs, after all? They are lost, somewhere, on the ground, in a ditch in the desert, a symbol for the millions of Americans who are disenfranchised, destitute and dehumanized.
Gay Americans, homeless Americans, minority Americans, these Hispanic-Americans we call ”illegal”, these are the people to whom we need to drop on bended knee, with head bowed, and ask for their kiss, ask for their blessing. The oppressed, not the oppressors, grant the blessing, and as the radical tomes of liberation theology proclaim, God’s favor rests on the downtrodden, not the mighty.
The presidents and war-makers will soon lose their legs and feet as well, their blood-stained house of cards bound to collapse. Yet in their place, we must nail down the foundations of true democracy, and cast away the damnable illusion that electing leaders and, as Thoreau said, resigning our conscience to those in Washington is proper civics. We must begin to look down, not up, to find our heroes, to find those worthy of bestowing a blessing upon the lot of us.
It is the height of folly and arrogance to bend low to kiss the disabled, injured, aching soldier.
We need them to bless and forgive those of us who take their legs from them.
David Cook is a teacher and journalist out of Chattanooga, TN, working through a master’s degree in Social Justice. He has written for the Times-Free Press for four years and currently writes for the Chattanoogan.com.
Accurate, poignant.
The visuals too, in the photos of Bush at Walter Reed, as he stood over the real heroes in the wheelchairs. Towering over them was his reminder that he is still in charge since he is taller than them! It was a gross sight, with that smirk and all. I think he even gave one of them a noogie on the soldier’s shaved head. Hard to resist, standing above and all.
eek.
God Bless the men and women of America, who believed in their duty and gave the ultimate sacrifices.
Getting a kiss from Bush is not a blessing. It is the kiss of death.
I read somewhere that, although about 4,000 American troops have died in Iraq, that many every year since the war began have killed themselves after returning home. Missing limbs, suffering from traumatic stress disorder, unable to find work and unsupported after returning home by the same government that sent them to Iraq, these men and women represent a national tragedy that shames us all.
Smedley Butler wrote in War is a Racket that he, as a much-decorated war hero, was muscle for American business interests, and this was back in the World War I era. Nothing much has changed, but it’s high time it did.
George Bush, you’re an evil man, and that’s the best thing I can say about you.
If anyone wants the satisfaction of knowing just how much most Americans despise Bush, look at the comments posted on the NY Times website, after Monday night’s disgusting “State of the Union” speech. There were 750 comments posted in all. By my unofficial tally, about 99% of them expressed strong hatred of Bush.
http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/01/29/us/29bush.html?s=1&pg=1
At the rate Bush has been cutting support services for active military and veterans since 2001, it won’t be long before a kiss is the only support the troops will get.
For another nauseating kiss, did you see the sycophant who kissed Bush as he entered to give the State of the Union address?
No doubt Bush believes those “blood sacrifices,” as I heard someone refer to the troops who’re in Bush’s war, aren’t supposed to come back alive. That’s why the ones not blown to bits get sent back to get the job done right. If they could figure out a way to send the seriously injured ones back, you can bet they’d be doing so.
What is all this crap about the “real heroes”? What if I said: “I don’t approve of Adolph Hitler, but I support the S.S.” What has this country come to when it lavishes praise on a goon squad whose sole purpose is to relieve the rightful owners of their natural resources? Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corps Commander said, “War is a racket.” Now we’re supposed to admire and sympathize with a bunch of thugs carrying oup their capos orders?
That is a point - all our soldiers that are in Iraq are VOLUNTEERS.
Nobody twisted their arms.
That said…. what about all the lies told to them by recruiters, pentagon officials, Cheney and Bush that justified their volunteerism?
Yes, the soldiers are volunteers. But many didn’t know what they were getting into, or didn’t think they had any choices. And they can’t quit if they decide they oppose the war.
The members of the SS were also volunteers…
Anyhow, I’d sooner kick the pResident than kiss that troll, or let him kiss me for that matter.
Too bad none of the brave soldiers are willing to file a sexual harrassement suit.
Swampo - what do you mean they can’t quit if they decide they oppose the war? Did somebody give them a lobotomy a award them ‘white feathers’?
Say that to the VietNam vets and others who have ‘quit’ the Iraq War.
From what I understand Mr. Bush or Authorities under his leadership authorized the censorship of photos of the troops coming home in caskets. Is this the mark of a true patriot, who indeed honors the service of his men and women in uniform? Or is this the mark of a patriot who honors his own political career and his own cushy job at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave?
In War there is no reality more basic and fundamental than Death. How can this supposed War Time Hero be what he says if he can not let his own people see the result of the most basic reality of the war he has waged? Does a true leader hide the results and affects of his actions or does he stand by them? Would he not be proud to show these caskets for if truly they are serving to combat terrorism what is there to censor?
Many questions will remain unanswered in this of most inconspicuous presidencies.
Our troops have what you call plausible deniability. As long as they think what they are doing is honorable it is. For some of them that might be the case.
The plain fact of the matter is the war was and still is being fought under false pretenses. It’s one huge war crime.
What many of these soldiers don’t know is the war is against us the citizens of the U.S. as much as it is the Iraqi’s and Afghani’s. They are unwitingly assisting in the destruction of the country [ours] that they have been lead to believe they are defending.
Our government has squandered huge fortunes and bet the farm on an imperialist agenda. Say goodbye to the farm kids. It was a stupid idea from stupid people from the start.
willo you said right. The soldiers are misguided or else were seeking opportunity. I don’t honor them or feel responsible. My sign carries the message, “Support the Truth”.
To curmudgeon99:
To your question, “what do you mean they can’t quit if they decide they oppose the war?”
I said they can’t quit once they’ve joined. That’s generally true. Once you joined the Army, your rights are taken away. If you think otherwise, you’ve got to pay a high price. That’s why there are resisters in Canada, trying to get sanctuary there. Lieutenant Watada is in the middle of a long court case.
Sure, a soldier can quit. But if he doesn’t have any support to turn to (as is often the case), he is isolated. For some, suicide is easier.
I wouldn’t kiss George W. Bush on a bet.
His lips are filthy from kissing the asses of all his Corporate Masters.
The American people should all kiss George Bush. They should kiss him goodbye!