“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt
Dear Incumbents and Candidates,
As of this writing, 12 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this month. Killed by Afghan Police/Security forces that our military have to train!
We give guns to supposedly an “Ally” that just turns around only to kill our own. What must that be like for our soldiers everyday on the battlefield, next to those Afghan soldiers whom they eat with, train and protect only to keep thinking that they could turn their guns right on them, only to have their lives taken from them in a split second? That’s some baggage we give our soldiers to carry! Shouldn’t our soldiers’ safety and security be first and foremost before anyone, anything, any political correctness? Yet, this is a recurring problem. It is quite obvious that our military’s lives are not a top priority. If they were, there would be an overall assessment as to what needs to be done to stop this madness, stop the needless deaths of our soldiers whom our country sends into battle. My question to you, however, is: Why hasn’t there been one statement of outrage by any of you—Democrat and Republican as to why this is happening?! You are their voices, their families’ and friends’ voices, their communities’ voices so as to raise these needed questions, raise the consciousness of our government’s military policies and strategies that are not working in both of these “endless” wars. Afghanistan and Iraq continue to raise serious questions as to why we are there, what we hope to accomplish and who is responsible for keeping our
soldiers so open and vulnerable in these countries that don’t want us!
When and who will give the answers to these questions? The thousands of American soldiers who have lost their lives, who come back wounded, limbless, disfigured and broken deserve that much from you! Their families and friends, neighbors, and our country deserve that as well from you! I’m tired of having our elected officials be just ordinary politicians — we have enough of them. The U.S. needs real Leaders. Men and women who have virtues of strong character, tenacity and courage. It is those qualities that separate the wheat from the chaff. It will also be those who won’t stop until we get honest answers.
As a concerned American on this issue, I have done so far what I could: I’ve written this letter. You can do the best thing; which is the right thing, the next best thing, which is the wrong thing, or nothing, which is the worst thing. The ball is in your court!
Kathleen B. Collins, Tarrytown
